


His Deepest Secret

by PagetPaulson



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 04:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5693836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PagetPaulson/pseuds/PagetPaulson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her whole life turned upside down because of a piece of paper. Could she handle it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Walking into the church, Aaron Hotchner felt completely out of place. He peeked over the other guests to try and find that all familiar brunette head of the woman he'd been best friends with for years, but the FBI agent was hard to find in the mass of mourners.

She had called him just a few days before after he'd blown up her phone for not showing up to work, never giving him a heads up about her absence, and she'd begged him over to her house. Getting to her condo, Hotch had found his friend crippled on her couch, her face buried into one of her expensive couch pillows and staining it with her tears and mascara tracks.

Matthew had died.

They had found him months before overdosing on cocaine, and their team had quickly rushed him to the hospital. The boy Emily had known that time in Italy was almost all gone, but after a month in the hospital and time in rehab, she was starting to see him again. They had rekindled their relationship - one Hotch felt himself grow completely jealous of with how close he saw they were - and only a half a year later he was found dead. A car accident had been his demise, and his death Emily's.

Emily had clung to him from the moment she lost her friend, her heart broken. Matthew had finally gotten his life together and now he lost it. The brunette made sure it was her job to put together the funeral, the dead man's parents finally letting her back into their lives after their son had gotten back on his feet. They had fallen back in love with the girl they'd known in Italy and they let her do all she felt liable to do once their son was gone.

And Hotch had just stood by, the past few days going by the way the months had after his divorce and eventually his ex's murder. It was as if the minutes were weeks themselves, stretching out to prolong Emily's torturous pain, and Hotch could do nothing but try and be there for her.

Finally finding the brunette woman in the back of the church, the Unit Chief politely maneuvered his way through those trying to find a spot to stand until the priest escorted them all out to the cemetery, and he held up his hand to get her attention. "Emily?"

Emily's lashes batted to try and fight her tears when she caught sight of her friend. "Hey," she croaked, quickly using the back of her hand to wipe underneath her nose. "Thank you for coming."

He held himself back until the younger woman made the first move, and as she stepped toward him he held out his arms, wrapping them around her slender figure. "Great turnout."

She nodded into his jacket as her wrists linked behind his back.

"Are Matthew's parents here? I wanted to give them my condolences but I didn't know who they were."

"I can introduce you on the way to the graveyard," she whispered, pulling back to wipe away the tears piling up underneath her eyes.

Hotch watched his friend try her best to hold back the rest of her tears that wanted to spill over, and he found his hands coming up to cup her cheeks. His eyes met hers when she looked up to him, her sadness the only thing he could see, and his thumbs brushed away her tears. It felt weird, the older man having to comfort the strong female agent when their relationship had been the reversal for years. She was his protector when he couldn't be hers.

Slowly shaking her head, Emily shook off the offending hands and looked down to her own. "The priest should be back any minute," she nodded, mostly to herself.

"Can I get you anything?"

The FBI agent was quick to send a glare to the older man. "I've had more than enough drinks to get through today, thank you."

Hotch paused, not wanting the woman he had known for years to curl into her shell any more than she already had that day, but shortly decided on shaking his head. "I meant water," he nodded, gesturing toward the entrance of the church. "There's a dispenser out near the front door."

"Oh." Rolling her lips inward, the brunette brushed her hands against the material of her dress. "No, I'm ok. Thank you."

"So how many drinks?"

Emily huffed, letting the older man lead her away from the wall she'd been attached to, watching the mourners welcome one another in the church as they waited, and over toward the front door, moving their way through the rest of those around them. "Enough," she croaked, clearing her throat afterward to stop herself from sounding, how she put it, pathetic. "I was up all night," she hadn't been able to sleep for the past couple of days, "and it just kind of happened. But from the drinking and the amount of crying I've been doing, I'm surprised I'm able to stand upright."

As if on cue, the older man's hand found his way to Emily's back, and he felt her stiffen up.

"I don't know about this," she whispered. They stopped at the front doors of the church and looked out to the rainy day, Emily's hands wringing before her. It was supposed to be a mournful day as it was, but the look of the graveyard full of mist and tearful skies made the agent that much more upsetting. "Can we even bury him in the rain?"

"You can," her friend answered from behind, feeling out of place whenever one of the mourners looked to him, "psychically, of course. But the day could always be pushed back if the family wanted it."

Emily felt her chin trembling as she watched the priest observe the yard workers lowering her friend's coffin just enough so it wouldn't tumble off it's supports. She didn't think she'd be able to understand he was truly gone. Matthew had been in her life for decades, and now he was gone? Just like that?

"Emily Prentiss?"

Turning her head, the FBI agent gave a quick sniffle and a run of her fingers under her eyes to try and present herself as put together. "Yes?"

The bald man gave her a sad smile. "A pleasure to meet you," he nodded, holding his hand out for hers. "Matthew had told me all about you."

Emily tried her best not to frown as she let the unfamiliar man shake her hand. "I apologize, who are you?"

"Thomas Braden, agent."

Hotch watched as his friend's jaw almost dropped to the marble floors they stood on before she took the man into her arms for a strong hug. It was as if the agent had immediately held a connection with him, and watching how Emily hugged him with her strong arms, he could almost feel himself growing jealous.

"Aaron," she interrupted his thoughts, trying to give him a smile as she pulled away from the bald man who was adjusting his glasses. "Aaron, this was Matthew's boyfriend Thomas. Thomas, this is my friend Aaron. He came to pay his respects."

Hotch stepped forward and immediately shook the younger man's hand. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

Thomas gave an appreciative nod of the head. "Thank you for coming." Turning his attention back to the woman trying to do her best to keep it together, the editor clasped his hands together. "Matthew's parents asked me if you'd like to read the eulogy you wrote at the reception due to the weather."

The brunette quickly nodded her head. "Of course." As long as she got to say her final goodbye, it didn't matter.

"And I have some news for you."

Emily felt herself frowning as she watched her friend's boyfriend dig into his suit jacket and take out an envelope. "Were we supposed to give each other gifts?" she joked, a watery laugh escaping her as she took the envelope in her hands.

The thirty-five year old man gave a chuckle. "Being the executor of Matthew's will, he insured that I give this to you."

"Can I ask what it is?"

Thomas made an awkward glance at the quiet man at Emily's side before shaking his head. "It isn't my place to discuss it," he said carefully, noticing Emily's brows furrowing as he started to back away. "There is a number there to contact once you've made a decision." Looking to Matthew's parents who were speaking to the priest finally back inside the church, the editor gave a wave of the hand. "I'll see you out there."

Hotch watched with a careful eye as the new face moved his way back through the crowd. "What is it?" he asked, moving to look over Emily's shoulder. Knowing he couldn't read the words from that distance without his glasses, his closeness to his friend being just a comfort.

Hearing a gasp from the younger woman, the Unit Chief's first reaction was to grasp her by her arm, feeling her stumble back into him. "Emily?"

Her head shook, a hand over her mouth as she read the words over time and time again.

"Emily can you hear me?"

Emily's eyes stung as she handed the paper off to her friend, her chest tightening as she tried to keep her balance, her head spinning. "I can't breathe," she hiccupped, falling into the wall beside her. "I can't breathe."

Hotch immediately fell to her side, his fingers finding Emily's quickest pulse point. "I need a medic!"


	2. Chapter 2

Andrea Benton watched the EMTs crowd the entrance of the church as the priest residing over her son's funeral read a final hymn from The Bible he held in his hands. Pushing her finger over the skin of her trembling chin, the dead man's mother let her mind wander from the mourners around her and their offerings of condolences to the woman her son had spent some much energy on all that time in Italy.

After hearing about the ambassador's daughter's abortion all those years ago, Andrea and her husband had cut off all ties with the then teen and her family. If they wanted their son to go through such experiences, they would have stayed in the states and kept him in a public school rather than had him homeschooled like they did. But after their son's mishaps and overdose, they had realized how important the ambassador's daughter was to their son and vice versa.

Once their son passed, the least they could do was let Emily help them with the funeral arrangements. For them, it had almost been therapeutic, and they felt that it would do what it did for them for Emily, but it seemed to make her more upset.

"Darling?"

Andrea's head turned to see her husband, her hand tightening around the umbrella's handle that blocked her from the rain. "Is she alright?"

Tom Benton looked over his shoulder back to the church and watched the EMTs fuss around the FBI agent in the last pew. "She seems ok," he nodded, his voice quiet as everyone began to exit the cemetery around them. "I'm sure she'll be upset later, though." Because of her having the panic attack that she did, she missed the burial of her best friend.

"We can always say the same prayers we did just now when the doctors say she doesn't need to go to the hospital."

Biting her lip, the mother of one stopped, her eyes moving through the rain to find her husband. "Do you think that's all it was? A panic attack?"

Tom gave a short nod of the head. "I made sure she didn't need to be taken straight to the hospital before coming out to bury," he coughed, choking up at the thought of his dead son, "Matthew. The head EMT said it was a panic attack and that she'd calm down soon enough."

"Matthew used to have panic attacks," Andrea whispered tiredly. It had been a long day. "He had to be hospitalized quite a few times."

Tom watched his wife take a deep breath to calm her nerves. Reaching out, he took her hand, his eyes glancing behind her to the plot where the yard workers were filling their son's grave with soil. "I talked to the EMTs." He turned himself around and slowly walked out of the graveyard with his wife on his hand. "They said if they were able to get her heartbeat down fast enough then there was no reason to hospitalize her."

Andrea felt her chest growing cold as her eyes met those of her son's boyfriend from across the road, sharing a gentle nod with the bald man before he turned his attention back to Emily, kneeling before her and taking a hold of her hand.

The two most important people in her son's life had missed his burial. Andrea was wondering how they weren't breaking down.

"Sweetheart? Can you hear me?"

Her dark eyes watched through the hardening rain drops as the woman her son had been so in love with clung to the hand of the man she had brought to the funeral, Matthew's boyfriend at her knee. She could see the FBI agent's free hand wiping away more of her tears before batting at one of the EMTs, and she smiled. Knowing the ambassador's daughter for all those years, Andrea knew how stubborn she could be. It didn't matter the date nor the time, Emily Prentiss was strong headed and stubborn Emily Prentiss.

Some of the many reasons why her son had loved her.

She saw the agent take one long look at the letter Matthew had written out for her, and her heart clenched, watching Emily hand it over to the man she'd brought to the church. "Do you think she'll do a good job?" Andrea asked her husband, her mind immediately going to their dead boy.

Tom's eyes followed his wife's, his hand tightening around hers. "He picked her for a reason," his voice whispered. "If Matthew believes in her then there's no reason why we shouldn't." He watched the FBI agent do her best to stand, a hand to her head before it flew out to shoo away the rest of the EMTs, and he nodded to himself.

She'd be a great mother.


	3. Chapter 3

Hotch's eyes roamed over the handwritten note in his hand, his knuckles almost turning white as he passed over the words that had gotten smudged from his friend's tears.

 _To my Emilia_ : the first words he had written.This man had supposedly been Emily's best friend, her oldest friend, and the friend she could trust the most, and now she was bombarded with the fact that he had a kid that he had never told her about.

And now he wanted her to take care of her.

Hearing his friend's cough from beside him, the BAU Unit Chief let the paper fall to the pew and leaned down before the brunette woman. "Emily?"

Glaring at the older man, the teary eyed woman reached forward to slap away his hands. "Don't touch me," she stated firmly, her watering eyes staring hard at the marble floors. "Please, no one touch me."

"Emily, can I get you some water?"

Emily's head slowly picked itself up at the new familiar sound of her friend's boyfriend's voice. "I'm ok," she nodded, slowly letting her fingers wipe away the new tears that fell down her cheeks. "I just need a minute."

Thomas watched as the woman his boyfriend had talked about almost every minute of the day did her best to take a deep breath and compose herself, those big brown eyes closing so she'd stop her tears. From the way she had reacted it was clear that Matthew hadn't ever told his friend about the little girl he'd helped bring into this world. That's the part the editor had found so confusing.

You keep your daughter a secret from one of your best friends who happened to be in the will the entire time to have custody of her if anything were to ever happen?

Sniffling, Emily took her hands from her face and shook her head. "Why wouldn't he tell me?" She looked up to the two men before her as if to gain some kind of new perspective, but all she found were blank faces staring back at her. "Did you know?"

Thomas hesitated before giving a nod of the head.

"Was there a reason he didn't tell me?"

The bald man sighed before standing and sitting himself in the pew before the FBI agent. "I can't speak for Matthew. All I know is that he wanted to tell you at the right time."

Emily's jaw fell to the church floor. "And that wasn't when he found out he got someone pregnant? When the baby came?" She angrily shook her head, wiping the back of her hand under her nose.

The editor's eyes never left the brunette beside him. "It was all as he was getting sober," he said quietly, watching as Emily looked up to him from her hands. "He wanted to wait until he knew everything was perfect. He wanted you to be proud of him."

Emily felt her chin uncontrollably trembling at the thought of her dead friend. "How old is she anyway?"

"I only met her a few times," he nodded. "She lives with her mother's parents. Still a baby."

Her eyes felt sore from how much the agent was crying. "Then why do I get custody?"

Thomas gave a small shrug of the shoulders. "I don't know everything about it. Whoever her mother was died of an overdose and the baby's grandparents didn't want Matthew to have custody because of his past with drugs." He could see Emily doing her best to stop her tears, and he reached over the back of his pew to take her hand. "He was in the process of gaining custody."

Emily's heart stopped. "Really?"

"He won," the editor stated quietly. "Three weeks ago. He was getting the house ready for her." Thomas felt himself choking up at the thought of the little girl he was supposed to call his daughter being in the hands of someone else. "The night he died, he was supposed to call you. He wanted to take you out to dinner and surprise you with her."

The brunette woman reached blindly for Hotch's hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

"Do you want me to take you to her?"

Emily let herself take a deep breath, her eyes in her lap as she tried to get herself together. "Shouldn't she be with CPS?"

Thomas frowned. "Well she is their granddaughter."

The baby was a part of Matthew, and Matthew was the best friend the ambassador's daughter could have ever asked for. It was the biggest surprise of her life but as far as Emily was concerned, she would be taking that baby. "Do you think they'll let me have her?"

"It's in his will. The baby's mother didn't have a will, so unless they want to go to court and petition for guardianship under the impression of you being an unfit parent, she's yours."

Slowly, Emily slid her hand out of Thomas' and let herself stand, her eyes glaring back to the EMTs who started toward her. "Don't," she warned, her voice deep.

Hotch felt his heart swell at the fact that the younger woman kept her hand tight in his, and he gave it a firm squeeze. "Can I do anything for you?"

"I'm afraid," she whispered, looking up to the older man with her sad eyes. "I never wanted children. What am I supposed to do?" How was she supposed to balance her job with a child that wasn't even hers?

Then again, she was Matthew's.

The Unit Chief gave a short nod of the head. "Do you want custody?"

Emily took a struggled swallow before quickly nodding her head. "She's Matthew's. I can't let her end up in foster care." If Matthew's plan was for her to have custody of his baby girl, there was no way she would go against his wishes. Turning when she saw Matthew's parents walking back toward the church, Emily clenched her jaw, her nerves getting the best of her. "What's her name?"

"Grace Emilia."


	4. Chapter 4

"Stop," the brunette sighed, batting away the hand of her worried friend as they drove down the back roads of Matthew's old neighborhood. "I swear to God," she hissed, sending a glare to the older man. "Stop babying me."

Hotch held up the hand in question in surrender before gripping the steering wheel once more. "You've had two panic attacks in the last day," the BAU Unit Chief tried to point out softly, wanting his friend to know how much he cared. "I need to make sure you're ok."

Emily did her best to force her tears back. "I'm ok," she whispered. "I'm just nervous."

Her dark eyes looked out the window to the watch the raindrops fall against the glass, and she quickly picked up her hand to wipe away the tear she felt on her cheek.

How was she supposed to raise a child?

Being career oriented since she was juts a child, the ambassador's daughter had never set her mind on the prospect of having a baby. A child had never been a part of her plan. How could she raise a child? She had no maternal instincts whatsoever; never even held a baby!

But Matthew was her saving grace. Her best friend from childhood had given the most precious gift he had ever received to her, and she couldn't let the poor defenseless girl Matthew had done so much to take care of go into the foster system. Even if she were to stay with her mother's parents it wouldn't be right. The man in question - the one now six feet under the sopping wet ground - had put her as little Grace's guardian.

Her mother.

"Emily?" a familiar voice came. Looking back to the man in the driver's seat, Emily gulped. "Did I lose you?"

"No," she denied, clearing her voice when it came out hoarse. "Are we almost there?"

Hotch slowly nodded his head as they turned at a stop light. "Just a few blocks away. Your lawyer is meeting us there." The girl's grandparents had been notified of Emily's guardianship over Grace the moment Matthew had passed away, and they'd put up a fight, but legally the child was hers.

The brunette woman took in a deep breath, her hands twisting and turning in her lap. "What if they don't give her to me?"

"They have to."

Emily's head shook, feeling the car take another turn. "I don't have anything for her," she whispered frightenedly. "I didn't buy a crib or food for her. I don't even have diapers." How was she supposed to be a mother if she had forgotten every essential need for the baby?

Hearing the tears start in his friend's voice, Hotch reached over and took the closest of the ivory woman's hands. "You just found out yesterday. Did you really expect to get over the shock of this news in less than twenty-four hours and have an entire nursery ready for her? No offense, but I didn't."

"I guess you're right," she sniffled.

"Hey." He slowed the car down in front of their destination and waited until Emily's eyes were connected with his. "You're going to be a great mother."

Emily's lips quivered as she let her friend open her door and help her from the car. Looking to the modest one story home before them, she could feel her chest tightening.

"Agent Prentiss!"

The brunette turned her head to take in a smile cast toward her from her lawyer. "Hey Mark."

Noting his client's tear stained face, the attorney turned his attention toward the unknown face. "Mark Lasel," he nodded, shaking the older man's hand.

"Aaron Hotchner," the unit chief grinned.

"Are you ready?"

Emily kept herself quiet as her eyes stayed glued to the brick house. She was the first up the walkway, knowing that if she didn't get moving soon she'd have Hotch pushing her up the path from behind. "They know we're here, right?"

Her lawyer nodded, reaching out past the reluctant woman and pressing the doorbell. "They were notified the moment Matthew passed. Grace is yours."

Eyes widening as the door opened, Emily bit her lip.

"I assume you're Emily Prentiss," the woman bit out, her red hair just a touch too dark to be considered natural.

Hotch took a step forward and offered the older woman a hand. Knowing how shaken up his friend still was about the entire situation, it made the most sense to let her work herself up to introduce herself. "Aaron Hotchner," he stated politely.

Her dark blue eyes darted to the BAU agent before her. "I don't remember a 'Hotchner' in the will."

"No ma'am. I came along for support."

The woman, Henney Linnape was her name, glared at the brunette in question. "Oh, she needed support to come and take my granddaughter away?"

Emily knew her discomfort showed on her face as she slowly shook her head. "Ma'am, I am so sorry for the loss of your daughter."

"You are, are you?"

The agent's teeth chewed hard into the skin of her cheek. "Ma'am," she said softly, "I just lost my best friend. I had no idea of his intentions, but legally I am to be Grace's guardian." Seeing the anger on the older woman's face, Emily chose her words as carefully as she could. "That doesn't mean I won't let you see her. You are her grandparents."

"Henney," came a voice, "let them in."

Emily's eyes met those of an older man, glasses hanging off the tip of his nose. "Theodore?"

His friendly eyes smiled sadly to her as he offered his hand. "Ted Linnape," he nodded, gently holding the agent's hand in his. "Matthew had told us a little about you before he passed. Very sweet words," the sixty year old smiled.

Emily bit back her tears at the words.

"Mr. and Mrs. Linnape, my name is Mark Lasel. I'm here to make sure the transition goes smoothly."

Ted gave the group a nod before leading them into the home. "Henney, why don't you go and get the little one?" Waiting until his wife had left the room with the lawyer on her tail, Ted took a moment to compose himself.

"Sir?" Emily asked smally. "Are you ok?"

The man with salt and pepper hair slowly nodded his head. "My girl wasn't always the best, but Gracie is the best thing that ever happened to her." He tried to hold back the emotion in his voice at the thought of his daughter. "I know she'll be in good hands with you. Government agent," he nodded, "comes from a good household."

Batting her long lashes, Emily kept herself quiet. He had done his research.

"Just promise me we can come see her?"

"Mr. Linnape," Emily breathed, "I would never keep her from you. I'm just her guardian, but you're her family. I wouldn't let her grow up without you two."

Ted gave a watery smile to the younger woman. "That's very sweet of you."

Watching as the redheaded woman rounded the corner, Emily's breath caught in her throat. The little girl looked directly to her, a chubby little finger stuck in her mouth as she struggled to get away from the woman holding her.

She looked just like Matthew.

"This is your new mommy, sweetheart," Ted smiled sadly, taking his granddaughter and pressing a small kiss to her dark hair. "Here you go baby."

Emily gulped, taking the little girl into her arms. "Grace." She saw those dark green eyes her friend had and almost burst into tears, her arms tightening around the baby.

Ted gave a small wave of the hand. "She's four months, and her birthday is January third."

The redheaded woman brought the clothes and toys they had for their granddaughter and shoved them in Hotch's direction.

"We should get going," Emily's lawyer pointed out, helping Hotch with the few bags the baby had.

When the four month old girl rested her head against her chest, Emily's chin trembled. "Well if possible," she spoke up, her voice husked, "we could have lunch in the near future? Give Grace some time with her grandparents?"

Ted nodded to the brunette. "Thank you, Emily."

"Thank you," the agent whispered, turning with the baby cuddling against her and walking out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

The brunette's eyes never left the sleeping baby that lay against her chest, her dark head of hair masked by the black of her shirt. Slowly, the tips of her fingers ran down the baby's soft cheek. "Gracie," she whispered, willing her tears to stay at bay as the four month old snuggled deeper into her chest. "You look just like your daddy, don't you?"

They had gotten home hours ago, the team surprising them at Emily's front door with bags of toys and clothes for the new member of their tiny family. After letting Garcia take the baby from her and dress her up in one of her new outfits, Morgan had led the new mother up to what had been her guest room. The team had put together a crib for Grace and a mobile hung from the ceiling, the off white walls perfect for Garcia to paint something interesting for the new baby.

It had amazed Emily so much that for only a few moments out of her arms, she had already ached to have Grace back in her arms. She put on a smile, watching as the beautiful baby girl was passed from new family member to new family member, Grace's big eyes opening wide to take in each new face she saw. After a while, Emily was fighting to get the four month old back in her arms, in a love hate relationship with the feelings she already had for the beautiful little girl she was supposed to take care of.

How was she supposed to be a mother to a daughter who wasn't even hers? She couldn't breastfeed her, she couldn't bond with her the way a real mother would be able to.

What if the state didn't even let her keep custody?

Emily let her lips thin out into a straight line as she reached out, brushing her hand over the baby's soft head. Her hair was finer than anything she had ever touched, and her skin so soft. "I bet your mommy was a pretty girl," the agent said quietly.

Grace made a soft snore, her small lips parting to drool on the material of Emily's shirt.

"That's going to be happening a lot, isn't it?" Using her shirt, she gently wiped the drool from the beautiful little girl's chin, watching as Grace's lips closed. "At least I'll have a lot of clothing. Just try not to ruin the expensive stuff, ok?" she joked.

Looking over to the man who had become her savior, Emily smiled. "Gracie," she whispered, "I'm going to mess up. A lot. But you see right over there?" She pointed to the sleeping Unit Chief on her couch, fully knowing the baby was asleep and wasn't listening to a word she spoke. "He's going to be there for you too. All of us, ok? So when I mess up, they're going to be right there to help you."

The four month old's eyes slowly peeled themselves open.

"Look at you," the agent holding her smiled. She was hoping the baby wouldn't notice the fear in her eyes. Letting Grace's hand clench at the skin of her chest, Emily sat herself up. "Do you want to try and sleep up in your new room?"

"Do you think she can understand you?"

Emily looked over to her friend. "Hey," her voice whispered as she stood. "Did I wake you?"

Hotch let himself sit up before shaking his head. "Why'd you let me sleep?"

"You can use it," the younger brunette said sternly. Eyes softening on the man who had helped her from falling apart, Emily gave a small smile. "You've done a lot in the past few days."

"You too." Standing, Hotch watched as his heartbroken friend cradled the baby against her breasts. "You went from agent to mother in minutes."

Emily bit into her lip to stop her smile. "I could be both."

His eyes locked onto those of the brunette before him, and he couldn't help but feel something warm start to knot up his stomach. He had been friends with Emily for years, known her for over two decades, and never had he seen her so beautiful. "Let me help with her."

Holding the gurgling baby closer to her, Emily shook her head. "No, go home." She walked up to the older man and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You have a full day with Jack tomorrow."

"Are you going to be ok with her?"

Emily knew what he really wanted to ask. _Do you think you can be alone with her?_ Peeking down to the little girl starting to fuss in her arms, the FBI agent tried for a smile. "I have to learn," she nodded. Leading him to the door, Emily took Grace's small hand in hers. "Say by to Hotch, Gracie."

Hotch bent his knees to be eye level with the baby in his friend's arms. "Goodnight Gracie," he grinned, letting her take his finger and put it in her mouth.

"He's not a chew toy," the woman laughed, wiping the spit from the baby's chin.

"Take care of your new mommy for me, ok?"

Emily's eyes immediately filled with tears. Grace wasn't hers, she knew nothing about the beautiful little girl she was holding other than the fact that she was her best friend's baby girl. "Tell Jack I say hi," she husked, closing the door behind her friend before meeting the eyes of the four month old. "Do you mind if I sleep next to your crib? Huh?"

Grace's eyes started to flutter as her head fell back against the brunette's chest.

"I won't leave you," she whispered once they were upstairs, and Emily laid the baby down in her new crib. Taking a few of the blankets and burping cloths her friends had gotten for Grace and making a pillow for herself on the ground. "I'm right here, ok?" She stuck her hand through the crib's bars once she was lying on her side, and she brushed her fingers over the dimples Grace had gotten from her father. "I'm staying right here."


	6. Chapter 6

"How do you think she's doing?"

Hotch looked up fro his lunch to see his friend and colleague on the other side of his desk. "I sent her a few texts," he shrugged, taking a large bite of his sandwich. "I'm sure she's doing great." The Unit Chief had given Emily two weeks off to be able to spend time with and figure out little Grace. She had sent him a picture of the baby asleep in her crib two nights before and Hotch had immediately gotten his friend on the phone. Emily had Grace laying on her stomach.

He quickly told her to flip the baby over onto her back so she wouldn't suffocate, being so young she couldn't roll herself over. Immediately, Emily was in tears. She hadn't know about the way a baby was supposed to sleep, and she dibbed herself right then and there the worst mother.

It had taken over an hour to calm the brunette woman down, the sobs heard over the phone having him wanting to run out the door and take Emily in his arms. After finallyletting her calm herself down, the Unit Chief listened to her description of every inch of the baby she was staring at. He listened to her at two in the morning tell him how beautiful the baby was and how scared was to mess up her life. It didn't matter what Hotch said, though. Emily was just thinking like a mother.

"Maybe give her a call."

Taking up the author's suggestion, Hotch picked up his phone and dialed the new mother's number.

"Hello?"

His face quickly fell at the sound of his friend's voice, and he watched Dave leave his office. "Emily? Is everything ok?"

Emily's eyes widened. "Hotch!" she cried, eyeing the sobbing child lying in the playpen JJ had gotten her. "Thank God."

"What's going on?"

The agent's eyes watered. "She won't stop crying," the ambassador's daughter complained, her voice straining. "I've tried to feed her the formula you guys bought, I changed her, I even just held her and tried to rock her because that worked last night when she got fussy. But Hotch, she just won't stop." She made her way back to the living room and peeked into the playpen, taking on look at Grace's red face. "Come on, Gracie. What's the matter?"

"Is she sick?"

Emily frowned, wiping her tears before putting her phone down and on speaker. "Hey," she cooed, leaning down to pick up the squirming baby girl. "It's ok, just let me feel your forehead."

Hotch heard a hiss at the other end. "Does she have a fever?"

"I don't have a thermometer but she feels warm." Trying to cuddle the screaming girl against her, Emily cried. "Why don't I have a thermometer?"

He could feel the younger woman's sadness bleed through the phone and hit him in his heart. "Take her to Jack's pediatrician," he said calmly, standing and taking his briefcase from the side of his desk. "I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes, ok? Tell the doctor that I recommended you go there and they'll see you right away." Rushing out of his office, he waved to Dave walked back from the kitchen. "I have to go. Tell Strauss to reschedule the meeting for tomorrow at noon."

Watching his friend run out the glass doors, Rossi smiled behind his coffee cup.

Emily's tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to quiet the child she held, doing her best to ignore the stares of the other adults in the waiting room. "Gracie please," she whispered, patting the four month old on the back. "Sweetie please just quiet down for me."

The four month old wailed louder and waved her fists in the air.

"Can you quiet her down?"

The FBI agent glared at the other mother two seats down from her as her hand rubbed up and down her daughter's back. "If I were you I'd quiet myself down before speaking like that to me," she growled.

Hearing the entrance door open, Emily pulled Grace to her chest to shield her from the cold, having had to take off her small jacket because she had started burning up.

"Emily?"

The new mother immediately stood and let her friend hug her tight to his chest. "The doctor said he'd be right out but that was twenty minutes ago," she said sadly.

Hotch left the younger woman's side and rushed to the front desk. "Emily and Grace Prentiss have been here waiting to be seen by Dr. Klein. Where is he?"

"He's helping with the new assistant," the twenty year old replied.

"Tell him Aaron Hotchner is here. Now."

Emily held her arm out as her friend came back over and she wrapped it around his waist. "Thank you." She pressed a desperate kiss to his chin before turning her attention back to the baby. "Why won't she stop crying?"

The Unit Chief coaxed the four month old out of his friend's arms. "Hey Gracie girl," he whispered in her ear. "What's the matter with you today? Why are you giving your mommy a hard time?"

The agent felt herself gulp at the title.

"Grace Prentiss?"

Emily and her friend rushed into the exam room, the brunette agent taking her child from her friend's arms. "I don't know what's wrong."

Noticing the tears in the brunette woman's eyes and the young age of the baby in her arms, the doctor couldn't have made a quicker assumption. "First time mother?"

Emily shakily nodded her head.

"Take off her onesie, will you? So I can check her heart."

Silently thanking her friend for trying to keep the four month old on the table lying still, Emily started to unbutton the purple onesie she wore. "It's ok," she whispered, noticing Grace wincing at the cold once her clothes were off. "It's ok Gracie, we're just going to check to see what's wrong, ok?"

The doctor smiled to the brunette before taking the baby from her arms. "Alright Grace, you want to tell me what has you so cranky?"

Emily let Hotch wrap an arm around her shoulders as she bit hard into her thumbnail, watching the baby wail in the doctor's arms.

"Her heart is just fine," the doctor said distractedly. She laid the baby down on the exam table and went to look in her ears. "It looks like an infection."

Hotch let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in and pressed a kiss to Emily's head. "Ear infections are easy," he whispered to her, nodding against her hair. "She'll be ok."

The blond woman quickly redressed the young girl after taking her temperature, and she handed the baby back off into the agent's arms. "She'll be just fine," she nodded, agreeing with Hotch's earlier assumption. "I'm going to prescribe her some antibiotics."

Emily slowly untangled herself from Hotch's arms. "Is that ok for a baby so young?"

"It's only a few days on the prescription. Other than the infection Grace seems very healthy, so it shouldn't be detrimental to her health." Looking up from the file she was creating, the blond doctor gave the new mother a smile. "If it was you who had the infection, we'd want you to wait at least a week to see if it cleared up on its own. Sadly, babies can't tell you how much pain they're in or how bad the infection is. To be safe, we'll put her on a week of the antibiotic."

Emily pressed a kiss to the child's head and gently bounced her to try and quiet her down, waiting for the doctor to leave the room before she let her face show the pain she was feeling.

"What are you thinking?"

Her watering brown eyes flickered up to her friend's and she shook her head. "I'm the worst mother already," she breathed. "I didn't have a thermometer, I didn't know the signs of an ear infection, I didn't know how to get her to calm down. I've had her for a weekend, Hotch! How am I supposed to do this for eighteen years?"

Hotch quickly sat the younger woman down in the vacant chair beside them. "Emily," the Unit Chief chided softly. "That's exactly it. You've been a mother for just one weekend." He watched her flinch at the name. "What?"

"I want people to stop calling me that," she whispered, smoothing down Grace's dark hair. "I'm not her mother."

"But you jus-"

"I know I said it," Emily nodded, looking down to the crying baby who was pulling at her hair. "I just don't know how I feel about it yet."

Hotch gave a slow nod of the head as he knelt before his friend. "Ok," he smiled. "Guardian."

Emily's eyes stung at the smile on the older man's face. "Will you help me?" Her voice was so small and desperate, she barely identified it as hers. "With Grace? When I can't seem to do the right thing or maybe when she's a little order and doesn't want anything to do with me, or just when I'm too stupid to t-"

"Hey!" the Unit Chief's stern voice cut in. "You are _not_ stupid."

"Hotch, I don't even have a thermometer!"

"So get one. This is new to you, you have to understand that. You're not going to get everything right." Hotch laughed, shaking his head. "If I were to have another, I'm sure I'd still mess up here and there. Everybody does, Emily," he said softly, cupping her damp cheek. "We're parents, that's what we do. We fuck up and we learn from it."

Emily pursed her lips to try and stop her tears. "So you're agreeing I fucked up?"

Hotch rolled his eyes, helping his friend stand and leading her out of the examination room. "Come on. How about we go back home and you give Gracie her medicine, and I'll go on a much needed ice cream run?"

"That sounds perfect," the younger woman sighed happily, letting Hotch take the baby so she could wipe her eyes. "I could almost love you, Aaron Hotchner."

The doctor watched the pair walk to the front desk to receive their prescription, the older man's arms around the baby and the woman by his side, and she hid her smile behind her clipboard.


	7. Chapter 7

Sitting herself down at her desk for the first time in over three weeks, Emily felt a strange sense of longing. Her eyes fluttered from object to object on her desk and felt her heart clench at not seeing a picture of Grace anywhere.

The four month old baby had kept her up every night, waking up almost precisely at one am and then four am, and when the baby was finally asleep, the agent found herself crying her eyes out, completely overwhelmed. But after only one day with the child, Emily couldn't see her life without the beautiful little girl.

"Emily?"

The brunette let her head pop up, her eyes casting over the border that separated her desk from Reid's and she smiled at him. "Good morning," she grinned. "I missed you."

Reid smiled back. "I missed you too." He watched as the older woman's eyes went back to her desk, and he wasn't sure if he should interrupt whatever it was she was going over in her mind. "How's Grace?"

Emily felt her eyes light up at the mention of her friend's baby girl. "Still sick," she nodded, gulping slightly. It was if she was talking about her own child, that's how she felt about the baby girl. Putting her briefcase on her lap, the brunette started taking out a few files she had done her best to work on when she was on leave at home with Grace.

The young genius almost got himself out of his chair to walk around their desks and take his friend into a hug, seeing the older woman ready to cry.

"She'll be fine," Emily tried to laugh off. "But she's with my mother right now."

"Is she adapting well?"

The brunette felt herself from as she thought about it. "Honestly, I think she is. I think she's too young to understand what happened to her parents," she said quietly. "But she seems to like me most days so that's a plus," Emily laughed, a real smile gracing her face.

"Princess," Morgan grinned, almost running from the kitchen and over to their desks to pull his best friend fro her seat and into a hug. "Baby girl, how've you been? We've missed you around here." Pulling back, he ignored the sadness on her face and brushed the tears away with a smile. "And now my baby girl has a baby girl?"

Emily tried for a smile.

"You can't have two baby girls," the technical analyst said quickly as she rushed into the bullpen in her five inch heels. "But I can!" Laughing, Garcia pulled her best friend into a bone crushing hug, pressing a big kiss to her curled hair. "Look how gorgeous you are," she gushed, pulling back with her hands grasping Emily's. "You have that mommy glow!"

The brunette gave a nervous laugh. "You know I didn't actually give birth, right?"

"Oh hush."

Walking down to see the majority of his team surrounding their favorite member, Hotch did his best to send her a look of comfort to try and calm her down with all the questions he knew were being asked. "I take it you're discussing a case?"

Garcia didn't even try to hide her excitement as she shook her head. "No sir," she grinned, pulling Emily close to her. "We're talking about our little Emmy becoming a mommy! Isn't that great? Maybe she, Jack and Henry can all have play dates!"

Seeing his friend's eyes grow wider than he'd ever seen them, Hotch quickly took a step forward. "Conference room," he ordered, ignoring the confusion he saw in his analyst's eyes as he gestured up the catwalk.

Emily sighed gratefully and leaned closer to her boss as the rest of the team walked away. "Too much too soon," the brunette breathed, feeling his hand brush over hers. The team knew how close they were, but keeping their professionalism in the work place was well needed.

"How are you feeling?"

Glassy eyes traveled up to the older man's and Emily bit her lip. "I miss her," she husked, shrugging her shoulders. "She's sick and almost only five months old and I miss her."

Hotch squeezed Emily's hand resting on her desk. "If you need to go home," he nodded, trailing off.

"No, I need to be here."

He watched as she sat down in her chair and opened one of the files on her desk, her pen so tight between her fingers her nails turned white. "How about staying through lunch and then leaving early?"

Emily turned her head and held back her smirk. "Perfect." Before she could let her boss walk back to his office, she turned in her desk chair. "Hey, would you actually want to do that playdate?"

Hotch looked back at his friend.

"With Grace and Jack?" she asked with a hopeful smile. "Maybe on Saturday if we don't have a case? They could get to know each other and you can help me out."

He looked over to the younger woman and saw the hope shining in her eyes, and he felt bad for wanting to laugh at the wide smile she was sending him. "I'm sure he'd love that." Smirking at the way his agent almost yelped with excitement and spun back around in her chair, Hotch walked back up to his office and got himself to work, the smile he had caused to spread over Emily's face burned in his mind for the rest of the day.


	8. Chapter 8

Setting out the plate of fruit she had spent almost an hour preparing, the new mother brushed the hairs that'd fallen out of her ponytail behind her ears. No case, no wailing baby, and it was Saturday at one in the afternoon. She and Hotch were having a playdate with their kids.

The brunette shivered at that. _Their kids._

Her boss had called her an hour before to give her time to get herself and the house read, and she was sure she'd surprise him.

Cut off jean shorts and a fifteen dollar floral top she'd actually stolen from JJ's closet. She was sure he'd never seen her in anything besides her work suits and gowns she'd worn when he worked for her mother.

Well, he'd seen her in the pajamas and sweatshirt she'd worn weeks before when they'd taken Grace to the doctor, but never had he seen her so domestic.

Hearing the doorbell ring, Emily quickly bent down and picked the five month old up, holding her on her hip. "Look at you," she grinned, kissing her cheek. "Look at that smile. Feeling better?"

The green eyed girl giggled, clapping her hands together.

"Yay Gracie!" Emily cheered, walking over to the front door. Turning the knob, the ambassador's daughter felt the hot June air flood into the house.

"Agent Prentiss?"

Emily's eyes widened, glancing at the woman in her doorway. "Yes?"

The blond haired woman smiled, giving her hand. "Jessica Calt," she nodded. "Child Protective Services."

She could have dropped the baby right there.

"May I come in?"

Shakily nodding her head, the agent stepped aside so the younger woman could walk into the home. "I'm sorry," she rushed out, closing and locking the door behind them. "I didn't know you were coming today, I would have cleaned up."

The CPS agent smiled shortly at the older woman, noting the expertly clean home except for the play area Emily had created for the baby in the living room. "Surprise inspections can be intimidating," the blond nodded, "I understand that. I won't be here for long."

Emily gestured for the woman to sit on the couch, and she took the arm chair with Grace on her lap. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"I'm alright," she denied. "I heard Grace was sick."

Trying for a smile, Emily held the moving baby close to her stomach, Grace's hands slapping at her legs. "She's better now," she nodded. "She had a small ear infection but the doctor prescribed her some antibiotics and she's ok."

Jessica nodded her head.

Emily could feel her heart racing as the younger woman wrote down something in her notebook.

"And how is she growing? What is she eating?"

The brunette licked her lips. "She's a pound heavier than she was almost a month ago," she said softly, picking up the five month old and holding her against her shoulder to get her to stop squirming. "I've been giving her formula, she eats almost four times a day."

The CPS worker smiled to the baby in the other woman's arms when her head turned to look at her. "How is she handling the change?"

"I don't think she notices," Emily said honestly. "She's very calm most of the time."

"No difficulties with her bowels? Cranky?" Seeing the older woman's questioning eyes, Jessica tried for a smile. "Symptoms of discomfort she may be experiencing because of the change."

Brushing Grace's dark hair off of her forehead, the FBI agent slowly shrugged her shoulders. "She's rarely cranky but it does happen. But when she first started the formula she had some diarrhea. She's used to it now, though."

A knock at the door had both women turn their heads.

"I'm sorry," Emily laughed nervously, standing with Grace on her hip. "Let me get that."

The CPS worker stood, her notebook in hand. "Do you mind if I take a look around?"

Emily was quick to shake her head. "Not at all." Hurrying toward the door, the agent gently shushed the girl in her arms slapping her hands together. "Shh Gracie, let's behave for the nice lady, ok?"

Hotch met his friend's eyes once the door opened, immediately noticing her curled hair set up in a pony and the baby grabbing at her necklace. "Hi."

"Get in here," she hissed, pulling the older man into her home and locking the door behind them.

Looking up to the brunette woman, the four year old boy grinned. "Emmy!"

The brown eyed woman felt herself really smile at the happiness she saw on the young boy's face. "Jackie!" she laughed, bending down to hug him.

"Is this Grace?" he asked quietly, his eyes no those of the gurgling baby.

"It is." She took the baby's hand and waved it at Jack. "Can you say hi, Grace?"

Grace suckled on her bottom lip, rubbing her tiny hands together as her big eyes looked over to the other child.

Emily laughed. "She says hi."

"Agent Prentiss?"

The new mother quickly ushered her guests into the home, her eyes on the CPS worker walking back into her living room. "Ms. Calt, this is my boss Aaron Hotchner and his son Jack." Looking to her friend, she made sure he saw the pained smile on her face. "This is Jessica Calt from CPS."

Hotch was quick to take her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Is this a playdate?" the worker asked, making sure to smile down to the boy she saw hiding behind his father's leg. "I apologize, I wasn't sure if you would have company or not." Looking to the woman of the home, Jessica gestured up the stairs. "May I head up to your rooms?"

Emily sent her a small smile as an answer, leading her friend and his son into the living room and she left. "I'm having a heart attack," she said pathetically, letting the older man take Grace from her arms. "I forgot CPS shows up for surprise visits."

Hotch let his hand rub down her back. "She'll be gone soon." His eyes went to his son, watching as he inspected all the fruit Emily had seemed to put out for them before shoving two cubes of cantaloupe into his mouth.

"What if she finds something wrong?"

"Emily," he breathed, sitting them both down, "what could she find wrong?"

The brunette's head almost shot off her shoulders as she turned to look to her kitchen. "What about all my wines?" she breathed, hating herself for not hiding them when she went to get the door. "What if she thinks I have a problem?"

Hotch could have stared a hole through the back of his friend's head. "Emily, people drink. Not everyone who drinks has a problem."

"I'm sorry," she apologized, feeling tears sting the back of her eyes. "I just wanted today to be a nice, worry free day."

"It will be."

Walking down the stairs, the CPS worker watched as the man who had entered the Prentiss household rub his fingers at the base of Emily's neck, and she frowned. "Agent?"

Emily stood and rushed over to the younger woman. "Everything ok?"

"Everything seems perfect," the worker assured her. "But may I ask, are there any personal relationships I need to put on file?"

The agent frowned. "Such as?"

"Boyfriends? Girlfriends?"

Emily saw the way the blond was eyeing the man she knew was sitting on her couch, and she was quick to shake her head. "Not at all," the brunette woman breathed. "We're just friends. I'm single."

Hotch kissed Grace's dark hair as he watched his friend lead the other woman out of the house, his eyes soft as he watched her curled hair swing behind her head. "Playdate time," he smiled, lifting a giggling Grace in the air to show to her mother.

Hurrying back over to the couch, Emily took the five month old and settled her against her chest with a smile. "Playdate time."


	9. Chapter 9

Holding her breath, the new mother - she still cringed at that word - waited for the elevator to bring them up to their desired floor. After a weekend with Hotch and Jack, Emily had thought it was best the rest of the team meet the little girl who was quickly taking over her world. She had decided to bring her to the office, knowing that they wouldn't have any new cases because the B team was on rounds that week, so instead of putting her in the FBI daycare that day she brought the baby and everything she needed with her to the sixth floor.

Stepping out of the elevator, Emily took a step to the left of the doors and set the baby's carrier down and quickly checked her diaper bag. She would kill someone if she remembered everything Grace needed except for her diapers for the day.

"Agent Prentiss?"

Emily looked up at the familiar voice, watching as Jordan Todd from Counter Terrorism walked over to her with a file in her hand. "Jordan," she smiled, letting the younger woman take her into a hug.

"How are you?" JJ's old replacement asked, stepping back with her eyes immediately darting down to the baby in the carrier.

Gulping, the brunette gestured down to the little girl. "This is Grace." She watched as the friendly woman knelt down before the five month old and watched as Grace played with the ladybug on her blanket.

Jordan looked up to her old colleague with a smile. "I heard you had a baby." Smiling down to the baby, she tapped at the bumblebee hanging from the carrier's handle to watch a smile cross over her face. "She's precious, Emily. Congratulations."

Emily let her lips purse as she slowly nodded her head. "Thank you," she said with a tense smile.

"She looks just like you."

The brunette agent quickly shouldered her diaper bag and picked the carrier back up as she bid the other woman a good day, and she quickly made her way into the BAU bullpen to lessen her chances of getting asked any more questions.

Spotting her friends from across the room, Emily quickly made her way over and set the bag down by her desk.

"Is that my baby girl?"

Emily grinned, setting Grace's carrier down on her desk and pulling down her blanket so they could see her face.

Derek walked up to his friend's desk, feeling a few other of his colleagues behind him as he let his finger trace over the entirety of the baby's right hand. "Hey there, beautiful," he almost whispered. "Look at you."

Letting himself keep a distance from the baby in their bullpen, Reid smiled at his friend. "She looks just like Matthew."

Emily bit nervously into her lip. "I know," she smiled back, reaching into the carrier and smoothing down the baby's hair with the tips of her fingers.

"Her ear infection's gone?"

She quickly nodded her head. "Yeah, but just keep your voices low," the brunette said as a precaution, knowing how the baby reacted the other day when she raised her voice while on the phone. Looking around the bullpen and over toward their kitchenette, Emily found herself frowning. "Where's Garcia?"

Derek kept his eyes on the baby as he listened to his friend's question. "She was getting breakfast with Kevin. She's going to be mad she missed this munchkin," he smiled, watching as Grace used her hands to push her cheeks together.

"JJ?"

Reid shrugged. "Said something was going on with Henry and she'd try to get here later."

Turning her head at the sound of footsteps coming down the catwalk steps, Emily smiled. "Hey," she grinned at her friend, letting Hotch squeeze her hand.

"You brought Grace?"

Emily shared a smile with the older man before turning to the little girl in her carrier and undoing her buckle. "Come say hi to Aaron," she chuckled, pressing a kiss to the baby's cheek as she bounced in her arms. "Remember Aaron?"

The green eyed girl looked up to the older man and took only a second to register his face. "Ah!"

Hotch laughed, taking the little girl into his arms and letting her pat at his face with her hands. "I'm happy to see you too." Peppering her apple cheek with kisses, the single father let his hand pat against her back. "How good were you for your mommy when I left?"

Derek's brow raised.

"Playdate," Emily said quickly, noticing her friend's questioning eyes.

"Is this the new princess?" the author of the group asked, quickly making his way down the catwalk and stealing the baby from his friend's arms.

Her jaw dropping, Emily almost charged over to the older man she viewed as a second father, knowing exactly how hysterical Grace reacted around new people if they got too close too quickly. But slowly stepping back, she realized the little girl she was working for custody of was cuddling into Rossi's chest, her tiny fingers playing with his tie clip as her head laid on his chest.

Charging into the bullpen, the technical analyst almost dropped the coffees she was carrying as she rushed over to the table. "I saw Jordan and she said there was a baby. It has to be Grace, right? Where's the baby?"

Emily felt herself leaning back into her friend's chest and she laughed, immediately taking the coffees that Penelope thrust into her hold. "She's right there."

"Calmer than I thought," her boss joked, smiling into Emily's hair when he heard her laugh.

Turning to face her friend, Emily pulled gently on his hand that laid on her desk to get his attention. "Hey," she said softly, "I wanted to ask if you would help me out on Friday."

"Of course," he said automatically. "Is everything ok?"

The brown eyed woman quickly nodded her head. "Of course. It's just a dinner."

Hotch frowned. "You need help with a dinner?"

"Well you just kind of need to come," the new mother shrugged. "I just need you there as a buffer." Seeing her friend give her a look, Emily felt her shoulders shrug. "Grace's grandparents are coming to the house for dinner and I don't want to deal with them alone."

Immediately the Unit Chief's eyes widened in realization.

"I'm just scared," Emily admitted. "I need someone to be there for support."

Hotch took another step toward his friend and forced himself not to warp an arm around her shoulder the way he wanted. "I would come even if you didn't ask," the older man assured her, sharing a smile with his favorite friend before Penelope's call tore them apart.

"Em," the blond gushed, "we need pictures!"

Emily frowned, letting her friend take the coffees from her and hand her daughter back to her. "For what?"

"Do you have any pictures with Grace yet?"

She felt her heart flutter as Grace's open mouth pressed against her cheek in somewhat of a kiss, and it occurred to her that she hadn't thought to take a picture of them or even the baby by herself.

Garcia gave the new mother a toothy grin and took her phone from her bra. "Can I?"

Emily hiked the baby on her hip, tapping with her index finger on the baby's cheek to get her to smile. "Smile Gracie," she whispered, kissing her cheek before smiling at her friend for the picture.

"Hotch!" the blond called, watching as her boss walked away to get out of the picture. "Come on, get in."

The older man met Emily's eyes.

"Come on," she smiled.

Hotch slowly made his way back over to Emily's desk and put his arm around his friend's waist, tickling the baby's back before smiling along with the brunette at the camera.

Hiding her grin behind her phone, Garcia took a couple of shots. "Ok!" Shoving her phone into Derek's hands, she rushed over to the new mother and baby and practically pushed her boss out of the way. "My turn," she grinned, taking the baby and looking to the camera with Grace and Emily laughing, Hotch shaking his head as he went back to his office.


	10. Chapter 10

"Gracie no," the FBI agent hissed, taking the earrings from the five month old so she wouldn't swallow them. "You don't eat these." Keeping her eyes on the baby as she put in her earrings, Emily quickly fluffed her hair. "Are you going to behave for grandpa and grandma tonight?"

Grace's tongue stuck out as she tried to blow out a breath, her spit immediately flying all over the dress Emily had bought for her.

"I'm going to take that as a maybe," Emily smiled tensely, picking up the baby and taking her to the kitchen so she could sit in her highchair. Setting the five month old in her seat, Emily watched as Grace reached up to scratch her head, and immediately the agent's mind flashed to Matthew scratching behind his ear in their favorite restaurant back in Italy, the fifteen year old boy smiling at her.

"Ah!"

Emily's head shot up, wiping away Grace's spit bubble before going to wash her hands. "You promise to behave for Emily?" she asked the baby, not wanting to call herself the 'm' word and start to get into the habit. She wasn't hers, she was Matthew's, and what if CPS didn't allow her to keep custody of the baby? What then?

Hearing the doorbell, Emily felt herself immediately begin to sweat. "No no no," she rushed out, making sure Grace was in her view as she ran to the door. "They're early."

"Emily?"

It was Hotch. The ambassador's daughter opened the door with a smile, quickly bringing her boss in for a hug before closing and locking the door behind them. "Thank you again for coming," she spoke softly, smiling over to Grace who was reaching out for her from her spot in the kitchen. "I don't think I'd be able to get through this dinner without someone who was on my side."

Her boss shook his head, picking up Grace from her highchair and letting her play with his tie. "It's not a fight," he almost laughed, watching his friend rush around the kitchen in a red dress he'd never seen her wear before. "There are no sides."

"Do you not remember these people?" Emily huffed, sending the older man a grin as she took the steaks from the broiler. "With them and Matthew's parents, we would never even start a conversation."

"Matthew's parents?"

Emily nodded, moving to the counter to toss the salad she had prepared. "If I invited one set of grandparents, I had to invite the other. And Matthew's parents just started liking me again so they can help me, but with you here everything is going to go better than I can even imagine."

He walked up behind the younger woman and put a hand to her shoulder, not able to hug her the way he wanted with the tasks she was trying to complete.

Her hand reached back to squeeze the hand on her shoulder, Emily biting her bottom lip before backing up and bringing the salad to the dining room table. "They should be here any minute so if you want to sit, or I can get you a drink?"

"Just water," he nodded, walking to her fridge. "I can get it."

She sent him a relieved smile, finishing the fruit plate she had gotten ready remembering that Matthew's father liked fruit rather than vegetables, and she quickly set the platter down beside the salad at the dining room table.

Both heads turned when the doorbell rang, Emily immediately straightening the hem of her dress.

"If you keep pulling at it, you're going to pull it right off."

"It's not too short?"

The dark haired pair met in the foyer of Emily's home, the ambassador's daughter trying her best to look presentable.

"Is that a joke?" Hotch tried to laugh. "It's fine."

"Fine?" Emily hissed, quickly glancing into the mirror by her coat closet and fixed her updo as best she could, curls falling out of the clip that held her hair to frame her face.

The older man's voice had the brunette agent immediately look to him, her eyes meeting his as his fingers pushed back one of her curls so it wasn't in her eye.

"You look beautiful," he whispered to her with a smile, hearing the visitors outside his friend's front door. "You look perfect, ok? I promise. Everything is going to go as best it can, and I'm going to be right here for you."

She took his hand that lay against her cheek and pressed a small kiss to his palm. "Thank you," she whispered back before turning to the door, unaware of the look her longtime friend was giving her, and she opened it to see Matthew's parents standing on her front step. "Thomas," the agent smiled, letting the older man giving her a long hug before her eyes moved to the woman beside him. "Andrea, hi," she tried to smile, afraid of her friend's mother's changing opinion of her.

"Come here, Emily."

Emily let the older woman give her a gentle hug before ushering both of Grace's grandparents into the house, shutting the door behind them. "I'm a little relieved you two are here first," she laughed, sharing a smile with the older couple. "This is Aaron."

"From the funeral," Thomas nodded, shaking the younger man's hand. "I remember."

Andrea smiled at Emily's friend before taking a small step toward him. "May I?" she asked, holding her arms out.

Hotch kissed Grace's cheek and took his tie from her grasp before handing her over to her grandmother, feeling Emily gravitate toward his side as they watched the couple hug their granddaughter tighter than they'd ever been hugged.

"Why don't we all sit?" Emily smiled, leading the rest of her guests into the living room and letting them take their seats. "Can I get anyone anything to drink?"

Thomas shook his head. "I can wait until dinner," he nodded with his finger caught in Grace's hold. "Thank you again for inviting us."

The agent smiled. "Of course. I know she must have missed you."

Andrea took a small whiff of the baby's head before kissing her dark hair. "I barely ever saw her," she whispered, her lips against Grace's forehead. "Only after Matthew won his custody battle did we meet her."

Emily gulped. And now she was Grace's guardian.

"How has she been?"

Brushing a curl from her eyes, the FBI agent did her best to smile to the older couple in her living room. "She had a small ear infection, but that's all cleared up. Other than that, she seems to be adjusting well."

Andrea looked up from the baby. "Do you mind if I see her room?"

"How about when both sets of grandparents are here?" Hotch spoke up, smiling to each and everyone in the room just as the doorbell rang once more.

Emily sent a panicked look to her friend before gently taking the five month old from her grandmother's arms. Maybe the other set of grandparents would be nicer to her and like her better if the baby was glued to her the entire time.

Hotch walked up behind his friend and followed her to the door. "You can't use her as a shield forever," he whispered in her ear, reaching around the younger woman and opening the door for her.

"Theodore," Emily smiled tensely - she could feel her cheeks hurting - "Hennessey," she nodded. "Come in."

The redheaded woman didn't ask before stepping over the threshold and taking the baby from Emily's arms. "Grace," she grinned, walking past everyone else and into the living room where the other grandparents sat.

Seeing the anxiety written across the new mother's face, Theodore stepped in and carefully put a hand to her arm. "Emily, I'm sorry."

She gulped, immediately shaking her head. Who swooped in and snatched a baby from its guardian's arms?

"She's juts missed her, that's all. I apologize for her actions."

Emily could feel her neck straining as she tried for a smile. "It's fine," she choked out, gesturing to the living room. "Please go sit. I'll be right there."

Hotch set his hand to the younger woman's back, waiting until the older man Emily had invited into her home was gone before he turned her to face him. "Breathe," he reminded her. "Just breathe."

"She hates me," the brunette wanted to cry. "This isn't going to go well at all."

"Emily," Hotch said, forcing her eyes to meet his, "do you remember this woman? You're going to have to deal with her for the rest of Grace's life."

The thought alone made Emily want to crawl into her bed and die.

"You're going to have to come to compromises, but right now I don't think anything we say is going to make her feel better or change her opinions. Let's just make her as comfortable as we can, ok?"

Emily let her boss' hand run down her back before they walked through the house and met with the guests in her home. "Is everyone ready for dinner?"

Theodore kissed his granddaughter's head before standing. "You didn't have to go to so much trouble," he smiled, sending a look to his wife to tell her to be nice. "What are we having?"

"I made steaks."

"I don't eat red meat."

Emily's hands brushed down her dress as she shrugged. "I have a salad and fruit too if you don't want the steak."

Henney looked to the younger woman with disdain. "I cannot have it," she stressed. "Do you not understand?"

"Henney," her husband said strongly, "let's go sit at the table."

Thomas stood along with his wife and took Emily to the side, pressing a kiss to Emily's cheek to lend her some support. "Do you need help in the kitchen?"

The FBI agent nodded. "If it's not too much trouble."

"Of course not."

Hotch watched the pair walk into the kitchen from the doorway, not wanting to stand in the way of a relationship being formed but not wanting to leave his friend alone to be made upset once again.

Emily chewed her cheek, handing the older man one of the trays she had plated. "I also have chicken if you don't like steak."

"Steak is perfect."

The brunette's eyes flickered away from Grace's grandfather's, his calm demeanor having her shoulders able to slouch for the first time that night. "Thank you," she almost whispered to him, afraid his wife would hear them talking. "I'm sorry, again. I really do want Grace to have more time with you."

Theodore took the platter from the counter. "I know," he nodded. "And I thank you for that. We're all adjusting."

She kept a smile on her face as she led the greying man back to the dining room, her eyes casting over to Hotch who was just getting to the table. "Here you go." Setting the platters down, both Emily and Theodore sat themselves down, the brunette woman sending her boss a smile when he pulled out her chair for her.

Noticing Grace's grandmother standing by the table, Emily sat straight and looked to her. "Hennessey, would you like to sit?"

"I'm fine."

Hotch looked across the table to his friend to try and calm her, seeing her hands clench around her silverware. "Are you sure?" he asked, standing from his seat. He walked over to the seat beside Theodore and pulled it out for her.

The redheaded woman glared at the Unit Chief, the baby squirming against her chest. "I said I was fine."

"Henney," her husband roared, his head spinning to look at the redhead he'd married, "sit down."

"You will not raise your voice at me!"

Emily felt her eyes beginning to tear as the angry woman handled the little girl who was to be her daughter, not wanting the five month old to be in the middle of the situation. "It's fine," she tried to smile, noticing Andrea and Thomas' discomfort. "We don't have to eat just yet."

"Why would I eat your devil's food?" Hennessey hissed, rocking the crying baby against her chest.

Emily's jaw dropped.

Walking over to the older woman, Hotch took the baby from her arms. "You should leave."

"Give me back the baby!"

"If you cannot be polite to the woman who is the guardian of your granddaughter, then you leave," the Unit Chief said strongly, hearing Emily's heels against the wood as she raced over to him to take Grace in her arms.

Hennessey watched as Grace immediately quieted in the FBI agent's arms, and it took all she had not to charge at the younger woman. "Devil!"

Emily's watering eyes looked up from the child in her arms to see Theodore escorting his wife from the room. "Please stay," she told Matthew's parents, noticing them starting to stand from their seats.

"I will get that baby away from you, I will!"

Kissing Grace's head, Emily watched as the couple left her home, her hands blocking the baby's ears so she couldn't hear the screaming.


	11. Chapter 11

"Look at you two."

Emily's head lifted. "Hey," she whispered, watching as her friend made his way into her living room. "What are you doing here?" It had been a week prior when Grace's grandparents had been in her home and Hennessey had blown up at her. Hotch had given her the week off to take time for herself and her new daughter but Emily refused, knowing that she could be the mother she wanted to be while being the agent she already was.

Hotch walked into the living room with his son sleeping on his shoulder.

"We seem to be almost the same person these days," the brunette woman chuckled, looking down to the baby whose head was beneath her hand.

The older man laughed. "How is she sleeping?"

Emily's hand ran over Grace's dark hair. "Pretty well," she nodded. "Her timing's switched a bit and she wakes me up at two and four instead of one and three, but she's been pretty routine." She didn't have to mention the fact that Grace had wailed for hours on end three nights in a row after Hennessey had had her fit in their home. After doing every trick Hotch had taught her to try and get the five month old to sleep, Emily had gotten a shirt of Matthew's she had kept from when they were teenagers and wrapped it around the baby, just like a safety blanket, and just like that the agent watched as Grace fell asleep.

Hotch's eyes moved from Emily's to her curly hair up in a bun and her sweats that drooped around her ankles.

"No judging," the new mother whispered with a tired smile.

The Unit Chief's head shook. "No judging," he agreed, looking down to his sweatshirt and jeans. "We're on the same page."

Smiling, Emily's free hand went to Grace's back and she sat herself up on the couch. "God," she sighed, hearing the show she and Grace had been watching as she looked out to and around her living room to see all the laundry she had done. "I still have to put all of this away."

Bending down, Hotch scooped the baby up with his free arm and had her head against his chest. "Where should I put these free loaders?"

Emily laughed, sitting up straight. "Her playpen is set up in the study."

When her boss left the room Emily got herself and stranding and stretched her arms high above her head. "Fuck," she groaned, the sound of the cracking of her back reaching her ears. The new mother looked to the clock and was immediately running into the kitchen to get some kind of lunch started for her and her guests.

"Do you always leave your underwear out for your guests to see?"

The ambassador's daughter blushed as she watched the older man pick up a small pile of laundry that had fallen on the floor. "Only the special ones," she winked, rolling up her sweatshirt's sleeves and chopping a few vegetables as the water on the stove boiled.

Hotch frowned, walking into the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

Emily felt her brow knit. "Making lunch."

"Stop." When the younger woman's eyes narrowed on him, he took the knife from her hand. "Come and relax."

Emily was quick to try and pull out of her friend's hold. "No stop," she tried to argue, holding back her laughter at the grin on Hotch's face. "I have to make lunch."

"You do not."

"I do too!" she laughed, her body finally leaving the kitchen so her boss could pull her along and into the living room. "Do you not want your child to eat?"

Hotch shook his head. "I want my friend to relax."

Emily did her best to stop from blushing as the older man pulled her close to his body. "I have chores," she stated obviously, her hand not in his gesturing to all of the laundry spread around her living room.

"Fine." The older man took the remote for the television and switched it to music.

Her hand immediately came to cover her mouth, not wanting the Unit Chief to see her laughter as he started to dance in her living room. "I've seen you dance before," she snorted, watching as the older man turned and snapped his fingers, "but not like that."

Hotch smiled over to his friend. "Dance with me."

Emily's head shook, her grin widening as her boss did his best to shake his hips.

"Come on, Princess."

The brunette's eyes widened, the comment shocking her enough that Hotch was able to take her hands and get her to move toward him.

"What?" he laughed, hearing the music get louder. "Morgan can call you that but I can't?"

Emily felt herself blushing, and she let her arms move with the older man's as he tugged her farther from the couch. "I have laundry I have to do," she tried to argue, smiling along with her friend as he got her to start to move her hips.

"But first we dance." The Unit Chief brought his friend to his chest before his feet moved back two steps, his arms outstretching.

The brunette woman let herself be twirled, her back resting against her friend's chest as he trapped her with his arms around her front. "I feel captured," she snorted, untangling herself only to be twirled again. Taking herself out of Hotch's hold, Emily quickly changed the station to a genre she knew she could dance to.

Hotch stopped, frowning as he watched his friend spin, twirling her arms above her head. "What is this?"

"Pop!" Emily could see the single father behind the dark hairs that fell from her bun. "Come on! You wanted to dance!" she laughed, shimmying his way.

"Not to this," he chuckled.

Shoulders slumping, the new mother gave her best glare to the older man as she held back her smile. "So what do you recommend?"

He stole the remote from the table once more and changed it to a different station.

Emily's grin widened as the familiar song came on. "How in the hell did you know this was going to be on?" she laughed out loud, letting Hotch immediately take her in his arms and spin her around. "Did you come in and hack my tv?"

"Everyone loves the Beatles White Album," Hotch grinned back.

The new mother hid her smiling face in her friend's neck as he slowly danced them around her living room, narrowly missing the piles of laundry she had done her best to categorically stack all along her floor.

Moving his head back, Hotch was able to look into the brunette's dark eyes. "If I trip over these clothes, you'll be bringing me soup in the hospital."

"I'll bring you all the soup the store has," she laughed, meeting his eyes as they both smiled.

A knock was quick to have Emily's head spinning toward the door. "Fuck," she cured, pulling herself from her boss and running toward the door when she saw that familiar face outside the window. "Social worker!" she hissed back at her friend.

Hotch was out of the living room faster than he had run after most criminals, off to get the kids from their nap.

"Jessica," Emily breathed, letting the blond into her home. "How are you?"

The social worker gave that practiced polite smile as she took in the agent's clothing. "I'm good, Emily."

Noticing the way the younger woman was looking at her, Emily shook her head. "I'm sorry," she laughed nervously, closing the door. "It's laundry day."

She followed the agent into the living room, eyes widening at the piles of clothes littering the room. "I can see that."

"Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'm fine," Jessica smiled. "I saw Mr. Hotchner while I was waiting outside."

Emily hid her grimace, hearing her boss entering from the hallway. "Here he is now," she nodded, rushing over to take the now awake five month old in his hold. "Hey there," she whispered, kissing a sleepy Grace's head. "We have to behave for the nice lady, ok?"

Hotch made his way over to the guest and held out his hand. "Ms. Calt, am I correct?"

"You are," she smiled. "Nice to see you again. Another playdate?" She knew what she had witnessed from outside the front door, she was sure that was not usual playdates consisted of, but she would let the adults admit to it before she brought it up.

Emily walked over toward the couple before her couch and nodded. "Hotch came over to help with my house work and we thought the kids could play," she smiled. Handing the baby over to her friend, Emily led the social worker to a clear spot where she could sit.

"I'm sorry," Jessica frowned, "is something burning?"

The brunette was off to the kitchen, cursing under her breath as she threw the pot of water spilling out onto the burner into the sink.

The doorbell rang, and Hotch could feel the tension from his friend rooms away. "I'll get it," he smiled, politely excusing himself from the social worker and his son to get the door.

"Aaron."

Hotch felt Grace's head turn to the woman in the doorway, Emily's hurried footsteps coming to meet him. "Ambassador Prentiss."

Emily froze, her hand on her friend's back as she looked to the woman who she hadn't spoken to for over a year. "Mother." Her body immediately stiffened, hearing Grace start to whine and Jack asking the social worker in her living room a million questions. "Perfect."


	12. Chapter 12

Ushering her friend back into her home, Emily took her mother by the hand and brought her across the threshold. "Mother," she rushed out, closing the door behind them, "I need you to please not say a word to the woman in my living room."

Elizabeth let herself stay composed as she watched her daughter lock the door and frantically look between her and those further inside the home. "You're not going to ask why I am here, Emily?"

"Not until she's gone," she denied. "Please," Emily begged, "I promise to explain everything afterwards. Just don't say anything."

Seeing his friend start back into the living room, Hotch looked to his son. "Hey Jack, why don't you do the alphabet for Ms. Calt?"

Jack's eyes lit up. His head turned, looking to the blond woman standing near her father's friend's couch. "I can go really fast."

"You can?" she asked with a smile. "I would love to hear it once I take a look around the house. Is that ok with you?"

Emily rushed over to the younger woman and put a hand to her arm. "We painted Grace's room," she tried to smile, leading the social worker toward the stairs and sending her friend in the living room a scared look.

"Ambassador," Hotch acknowledged, seeing the older woman looking around the room. "Can I offer you anything?"

The older woman with her handkerchief to her chest turned to look at the man in her daughter's living room. She felt herself give a small smile, walking further into the house her daughter had bought. "Agent Aaron Hotchner, do you spend enough time here to know where Emily keeps her things?"

The Unit Chief could feel himself gulp in the presence of the ambassador.

"Have you and Emily gotten close?"

His hold on the baby in his arms tightened as he felt Elizabeth's eyes narrow on him. "Of course, ma'am," he nodded, his hand running down Grace's back. "Our team, we've become a family. It's very easy to get comfortable in one another's homes."

Elizabeth's head gently bobbed in a nod. "And I take it this isn't your little girl."

Hotch turned his back almost right away, wiping the tired girl's spit from her chin as he walked into the kitchen. "Let me get you some coffee."

Walking back down into the first floor of her home, Emily sent a tight smile to the boy playing with her couch cushions.

"Can I ask who you are?"

The ambassador kindly stepped forward and let the blond in the room take her hand, and by looking to her daughter she could tell Emily wasn't fond of it. "Ambassador Prentiss," she nodded. "Emily is my daughter."

Emily nervously licked her lips. "Call her Elizabeth."

Jessica gave a smile, looking back to the newcomer of the household. "Can I ask about your feelings on her situation?"

Looking to her daughter, the diplomat maintained her composure. "I'm working on understanding," she said slowly, watching as the woman she raised, the strong FBI agent, began to shrink under her gaze. "Tell me miss, how has my daughter been evaluated?"

The new mother heard her friend walking back into the room and took Grace from his hold, shifting her so she were almost a shield.

"Bonding," Jessica said distractedly as she looked through her chart, "health, environment, your daughter's job specifically and how it may interfere with her parenting of Grace."

Elizabeth's eyes moved back over to the five month old. "Grace."

Jessica frowned at the way she saw the older woman looking at her client. "Elizabeth can you tell me, is this the first time you've met Grace?"

Watching her daughter let the only man in the room take her into his side, the ambassador clenched her handkerchief. "It is."

"Jessica," Emily cut in, "my mother and I both have very demanding jobs as you know. We haven't had the chance to bring she and Grace together formally." Eyeing her mother, the agent did her best to control her breathing. "We planned a gathering this evening but my mother came a bit early."

For another lengthy five minutes, the Prentiss' exchanged only glances as Jessica's suspicions got the best of her, but she was quickly escorted out by Hotch when he could feel the tension growing too strong. "We're having a company picnic next weekend if you'd like to come," he smiled, barely getting the chance to lock the door before he heard his friend explode.

"What are you doing here?"

Elizabeth's shoulders straightened. "Excuse you, Emily Elizabeth. Do you realize how you're talking to me?"

Emily's eyes bugged. "Why are you here?" she seethed, Grace starting to squirm against her chest. "I didn't invite you."

"I can't come to see my own daughter?"

"If you came to see me, then yes," she nodded. "But coming for a visit and coming to check up on me are two completely different things."

Elizabeth took a step forward, her eyes hard on the younger version of herself. "I would like a reason for why my daughter didn't give once think to call me and tell me she was to have a daughter of her own."

"A reason?" Emil's rasping voice asked. "A reason for why I wouldn't have called you? How about how I've tried for years to get you to pick up the phone instead of your secretary? Or the fact that I've never once gotten a call back?" She could feel her head start to pound, Grace's little hands reaching up to touch the hot skin of her neck and Hotch trying to distract his son in the living room. "You've never actually tried being my mother."

Hotch looked to his friend from the floor beside her couch.

Emily's eyes blinked back their tears. She had cried too many times during the past few weeks and she would not do it in front of her mother. "Never have you once been involved in my life. You haven't cared," she shrugged. "Why would I tell you that I've finally been able to become a mother? That I'm working at becoming Grace's parent because my best friend died and had this planned out in his will? That I plan on being the best mother I can be even though I have no example to follow after?"

The ambassador felt her heart tear in two.

"Why would I think, even for a second, about letting you be a part of any of this?"

The doorbell shook the tension in the room, the ringing bringing Emily's attention from her mother to an unfamiliar face out the window. "God," she huffed, hiking Grace higher on her hip as she walked to the door. "What else could go wrong today?"

Once the door opened, the man outside gave a smile. "Agent Emily Prentiss?"

Emily took in the younger man's suit, the envelope in his hand. "Can I help you?"

"Agent Emily Prentiss?"

When his hand raised the envelope, the agent's heart fell to the pit of her stomach. Letting her eyes move back to meet his, she nodded.

He smiled, handing over the crisp envelope. "You've been served."


	13. Chapter 13

Emily stole another carrot stick off the table before finding herself lying on the quilt she'd set on her living room floor. "Open," she whispered as cheerfully as she could to the now seven month old who sat up all by herself on the blanket. "Open, baby."

Grace almost glared at the offending item.

"Come on," the agent chuckled, smoothing Grace's hair down. The dark tufts began growing longer, reaching the tips of her ears. "Take it, Gracie. It's going to help, I promise."

The soft words from the older woman had the seven month old reaching for the carrot, her hands barely able to clamp around the slippery vegetable before it ended up on the quilt.

Emily reached for another, helping it between the teething girl's lips. Her eyes followed each of the baby's movements, her hand never leaving her little leg that tried to kick out. She'd spent almost two months in hell, having to meet with her lawyer because Grace's grandmother was filing for full custody.

She had gotten a call from child services saying that Jessica Calt had put in the best word for her, but now that was all changing.

"Bup."

The FBI agent broke out of her trance at the murmur of the little girl. "Is that a real word?"

Grace grinned at the older woman around her carrot.

Emily reached out and tickled the little girl's' sides, watching as she cheerfully laughed and did her best to munch on the cold carrot. "Aren't you beautiful?" the agent mused.

Her lawyer had gotten back to her just that morning, giving her the slightest confidence to think she could win this case. Hennessey was no longer allowed to see Grace until their case was resolved, but Theodore had come over close to a handful of time, profusely apologizing to the younger woman for the actions taken against her before spending the day with his granddaughter.

Thankfully, Emily's spite had simmered down, not wanting to let them build a case against her on the grounds she was keeping Grace because of it.

"Bup!"

The agent pressed a kiss against Grace's cheek. "And bup to you too!" she laughed, letting Grace draw with her spit covered carrot across her nose. "Thank you," she nodded, "I needed that."

Emily sat up and took the baby reaching for her into her arms, feeling Grace's hands grip the collar of her shirt once the carrot fell to the quilt. "Do you want to stay here with me, Gracie?" She watched as those big green eyes looked up to her. "Do you like it here?"

The smile from the seven month old was all she needed for an answer.

"I think it's best to you stay here with me too," she whispered. Putting the carrots back on the plate she had made her daughter - she had been thinking of her that way since the moment she'd been served right at her front door - and wiped the spit from her chin. "You using me as a towel?" She could feel Grace wiping her mouth against her shirt.

With her mouth open, Grace wiped her spit across the purple shirt the woman who took care of her wore before she let her tongue stick out and taste the material.

Emily grimaced. "Ok," the brunette laughed, turning Grace in her lap. "Do you want to talk to daddy?" Feeling the baby squirm in her hold, Emily took the remote and turned on the television. "Think it's time to talk to daddy?"

A month prior, when Grace was tucked away in her crib and sleeping soundly - only on so many nights did that happen - instead of heading to bed, the baby's new guardian had gotten together all of her photos of Matthew she could find tucked away in her various photo albums. She got them burned onto a DVD and played the montage for Grace almost every day.

"Look," she cooed, turning the baby just slightly so she was able to look at those big green eyes. "Look who it is."

Every time the DVD would play Grace's eyes would light up, and the feeling the single woman got from watching the joy on the seven month old's face was too good to pass up. "Who is that?"

Grace was immediately reaching for the screen, her single tooth that was coming in popping out as she smiled.

"Is that daddy?" Emily laughed, waving along with Grace up to the TV screen. "Hi daddy."

Grace's spit bubble popped from her tooth and dribbled down her chin. "Bup," the little girl whispered, watching as the pictures of her father flickered across the screen.

Pressing a long kiss to the almost eight month old baby's soft head, Emily could finally feel her heart warm at the sight of her childhood friend. "I'm going to protect her," she promised him. The ivory skinned woman felt goose bumps pop up along her arms as a photo of her and Matthew when they were just fifteen years old flash onto the screen. "I want to be her mommy."

The seven month old reached up and set her lips sloppily against the agent's chin.

"You're going to stay right here with me." Sharing a kiss with the young girl, Emily set her forehead against hers. "I promise."


	14. Chapter 14

"I think if she isn't here on time, I should get the baby."

The younger of the two lawyers refrained from rolling his eyes at the redheaded woman across the table, knowing the FBI agent beside him was doing his best to do the same. "Mrs. Linnape, Emily Prentiss isn't late. We just arrived early."

Hennessy glared.

"Our meeting starts in five minutes," Hotch reminded the older woman across the table from him. He saw Theodore sit back in his seat, staying quiet and as out of the way as he was able to, and he thanked him with a small look. "Emily may be dealing with Grace at the moment. She is her guardian."

"Dealing?" Hennessy scoffed. "Is that how you talk about my granddaughter?"

The arbitrator sighed, leaning back in his seat.

"She's a single mother on her way to a meeting to determine if the woman trying to take her daughter from her has just cause," Hotch spoke up. Eyeing the older woman, he made sure to stick up for his friend who hadn't yet arrived. "If she's a minute late, it was a minute she was spending with her daughter. I think we can all agree that's a good enough reason."

Hennessey's teeth grit as she watched the smug gentlemen across from her share a look. "Do not call her a mother."

Opening up the conference room door, Emily stepped in. "Hi," she breathed, checking to make sure Grace was still comfortable in JJ's arms out in the hallway before she took her seat. "I apologize, Grace has been teething and was a little cranky this morning when I woke her up."

The arbitrator nodded over to the newcomer. "Agent Prentiss, thank you for joining us. Don't worry, you're not late."

Emily sent the older man a relieved smile.

"I don't want him here."

The brunette agent looked to see where Hennessy's eyes shot to, and her gaze followed to land on her friend. "Aaron Hotchner is not only an agent but a prosecutor," she pointed out.

"You already have a lawyer!"

"I have two," she said calmly.

Hennessy's shoulders shook as she tried to keep herself calm. "That's unfair!" she cried out, turning to nudge her lawyer. "Get one of them out of here."

The arbitrator held up his hand to gain everyone's attention. "It doesn't matter how many lawyers someone has because there is no limit."

"There's no law against it?"

"No," he said strongly. "Now if it's alright with you all, I'd like to start."

Hennessy's lawyer opened up his case file, slipping his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. "Hennessy and Theodore Linnape are filing for so-"

"No." Theodore sat himself up in his chair. "Henney if filing."

Emily watched as the man across from her nodded in her direction, and she could feel herself calming down.

"Hennesy Linnape," the lawyer corrected, "is filing for sole custody of her granddaughter Grace Benton on the basis of Emily Prentiss' negligence and inadequacy."

"She's my grandbaby. Why shouldn't I have custody of my own grandbaby?"

Emily's ears perked as she listened to both her and Hennessy's lawyers ask her not to interrupt. Meeting Hotch's eyes as she subtly turned her head, she could feel that much more of a weight lift from her shoulders.

The arbitrator looked to the FBI agent in question. "Agent Prentiss, can you tell us about your time with Grace thus far?"

"Grace has been doing perfectly," Emily began with a smile.

"She had an infection!"

Emily eyed the redheaded woman across from her as the lawyers once against asked her to remain quiet. "Grace had an ear infection that cleared up after a week," the agent acknowledged. "I'm sure you know kids get sick."

"Of course," the arbitrator nodded. "Continue."

The brunette set a dark curl behind her ear. "She's adjusted very well to me and my family. The other day we had a barbeque for the fourth of July and she met some of my team members for the first time," she smiled smally. "She loves each and every one of them."

"And her health is better?"

"It is," Emily nodded. "She hasn't been sick. She's been teething now, as I said earlier, so she's been a little cranky and feverish, but we've handled it."

The arbitrator's hand speedily wrote on the papers he'd brought with him. "And your job? How is that working now that you have a child?"

"Is the guardian of a child," Hennessy corrected him with fierce eyes. "She is not her daughter."

Emily rolled her lips together as if she had just applied a fresh coat of lipstick. "I've been a mother for a few months now. I've learned a few things about this little girl and what we can do to help one another. I'm her guardian, that was the wish of Grace's father. This little girl has been through a lot, and I've done my best to help her with that. As for my job, I've been back to work for a few months now."

"And you sometimes travel out of state, correct?"

"To help other police departments with their cases, yes," Emily conceded. "When I have to go out of town, my friend and colleague Penelope Garcia comes to my house and watches Grace."

The arbitrator looked over a few of the notes the social worker had given him. "And how often do you go out of state, would you say?"

Emily bit her lip. "It depends, but possibly once a week."

"For how long?"

"A few days."

Hennessy's jaw dropped at the information. "She's barely even there with my grandbaby! Why are we here? I should have custody."

"Mrs. Linnape if you don't keep yourself quiet, this meeting will be ended," the arbitrator warned her.

Emily kept her composure, her dark eyes on the older woman as she opened her mouth once more to retort. "Grace has not reacted badly to my leaving. I speak to her on the phone every night, have hourly check ins with Penelope to make sure my daughter is doing just fine and when I get home, Grace acts as if I was there with her the entire time."

"Has she been clingy?"

The brunette gave herself a minute to think. "When she gets cranky, she likes to stay in my arms," she nodded. "But I've seen that with many children. It's normal."

When the agent was done, Hennessy's lawyer leaned his arms on the conference room table. "Agent Prentiss, you say Grace has been reacting well to your family."

"Correct," Emily's lawyer agreed. He would talk, lawyer to lawyer, so nothing Emily said when she was replying could be used against her. "Grace loves all of them."

"Now who do you mean when you say family?"

Emily's brow furrowed.

The lawyer looked down to his open case file. "Because I know that your social worker said it was as if your mother, Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss, was never told about the fact you were now a guardian to a child."

The room froze, the arbitrator's eyes turning to the agent on his right.

"My family is my team," Emily said strongly. "My mother knows about Grace."

"Did she know about her before Ms. Calt's last visit?" the lawyer asked.

"I don't see wh-"

"Because if she didn't, to me at least it shows how little you care about this girl you call your daughter."

Emily could feel her nails digging into the palms of her hands. "How dare you?"

The lawyer gave a smug smile. "To me, and I'm sure to a judge and jury, it would show how little you even thought about the idea of telling your mother about Grace Benton."

"Agent Prentiss, are any of these allegations true?"

Emily took a moment to control her emotions as she got herself ready to answer. "My mother was overseas when Grace came into my custody."

Hennessy's lawyer sat forward. "Do they not have phones overseas?"

"My mother is an ambassador, as you said. The time she has to speak on the phone is miniscule."

"Much like your love for Grace?"

"Stop!" Emily blew up, her face red. "Enough! Grace is my daughter and I love her more than you could know," she spit out. "How dare you accuse me. Telling my mother about my new daughter has nothing to do with our relationship or my love for my little girl. This is not something you tell someone over the phone."

Hennessy's entire body shook as her head did. "You don't care about my granddaughter!"

"I care for her more than you ever could!"

JJ smoothed down Grace's growing hair, sitting back against the bench she was in. "Mommy will be back in a few minutes," she cooed, hearing Reid sit back down beside her. "Can you say hi to Henry for me?"

Henry walked up to the baby. "Hi," he grinned.

The sound of the door flying open, all heads turned to watch Emily storm out, her lawyers behind her and closing the door before the ambassador's daughter's purse flew across the hallway and slammed into the opposite wall.

Emily quickly wiped her tears from her pale cheeks as she rushed over to her daughter. "Come on," she whispered, kissing the seven month old's cheek soundly. "Give mommy a hug."

"Mama."

Everyone watched as Emily broke down with her eyes on the baby in her hold. "That's me," she tried to smile, wanting to truly be excited for Grace's first word. "Yeah, I'm your mama."

JJ stood from the bench, her hand on her son's head as she watched her friend carry her daughter down the hall. "What happened?"

"They set a trial date," Hotch informed their friends, his face falling. "A judge will decide who gets custody."


	15. Chapter 15

"I don't get why the judge said you had a court date," Emily's blond friend said frowning, feeding pieces of her chicken to her friend's new daughter. Watching as the seven month old mashed as the small shreds of chicken with her toothless smile, JJ grinned. "Good?"

Emily kept herself silent, her chin in her hand as she watched her daughter interact with Henry.

"Em?" Hotch reached over to the woman by his side and put a hand to her arm. They had gone out to lunch after their meeting with the Linnape's and their lawyer, the hopes of Emily being in such a public setting having her be able to calm down. "There's nothing to worry about. We're going to get you custody."

The brunette blew out a breath, her head shaking. "I shouldn't have to fight for custody," she stated. "I'm only a few months from signing her adoption papers. This shouldn't be happening."

JJ watched as her friend took a long sip of her beer.

"Am I not a good mother?"

The blue eyed woman let her jaw drop. "Is that a serious question? Emily, you're an amazing mother. Gracie already sees you as her mommy, you know all the tricks to calm her down and you know what she likes to play with, what she likes to sleep with. You're her mother."

Emily's eyes watered. "If I'm such a good mother, why am I losing custody before I even sign the adoption papers?"

"You're not losing custody," Hotch said strongly. "This is just a formality, at this point. All they have against you is your relationship with your mother, and that has nothing to do with your parenting of Grace."

"But what if the judge thinks they actually have a case?" she asked her lawyer with wet eyes. "The arbitrator did."

Hotch took the drink from the younger woman's hand and put it out of her reach. "Barely," he corrected her. He handed her the napkin beside him and waited until her cheeks were dry. "He barely thought they had a case. He's sending it to a judge to get a better perspective on it, not to take custody away from you. The worst that would happen is he'd given them visitation rights, but the agreement you have with Theodore already is basically the same as that."

"Em," JJ said softly, pulling the brunette's attention back to her, "no one is going to take Gracie from you. Your social worker will be there to speak on your behalf, we all will give them our thoughts on you and your mothering. You know what's going to happen," the blond nodded. "You're just stressing yourself out."

Emily sighed, sitting straighter in her chair and nodding her head. "Yeah." Looking to her daughter, she watched as the seven month old happily slobber over the chicken her friend had given her. "Ok, I think it's time to go." Only half of the day was over and she was already exhausted.

The only man at the table met the eyes of the younger woman, his head tilting as she stood from her chair. Do you want company?

The new mother could see the question in his eyes and she did her best to smile. "We'll be fine." Groaning animatedly to get the little girl to laugh, Emily lifted Grace into her arms and shouldered her purse. "We just need some time alone right now."

JJ reached out and squeezed her friend's elbow. "Call us when you're home."

Smiling, Emily bid a goodbye to each of her friends and kissed Henry's head before walking out of the restaurant and into the city. Her daughter was strapped tight to her chest, her arms around Grace's small body to protect her from the strangers they passed on the street and the wind that was blowing Emily's curls back, and drooled slightly against her chest.

"How yucky," the single woman grimaced, sharing a smile with the toothless little girl. She had done her best to check to see where her teeth were coming in, but nothing had poked through her gums yet. "Mommy can't even wipe that up right now."

The seven month old laughed, cuddling into her mother's chest.

Kissing her daughter's head, Emily waited until the crosswalk light turn green so she could step into the street. "Maybe when we get home we can have some carrots," she said excitedly, watching as Grace's green eyes widened.

A blaring horn blasted through her ears, the vehicle from which it came knocking the new mother to the ground before she had the chance to even turn her head at the sound. Her arms never faltered, holding her baby tight to her chest as she fell and hit the ground, her head taking the first punch as the car hit her.

"Ma'am!"

Blinding pain flew from her head to her chest and back again, brown eyes flying open at the sounds filling her ears.

"Ma'am, let me help you!"

The agent winced as her baby cried bloody murder in her ears, her body aching as someone helped her sit up in the street. "Shh," she whispered to Grace, her pain and everyone around her making it hard to concentrate on calming her baby.

"We're calling an ambulance," the cyclist hurried out, the sight of the older woman's blood scaring him.

"I'm sorry," the driver of the car cried, "I'm sorry!"

Emily could feel herself growing dizzy as the sounds of horns and sirens grew louder, a pain in both her temples. "Grab the baby," she said quietly, barely handing off the wailing seven month old off to the man in blue before she fell back down against the tar.


	16. Chapter 16

Fighting against the heaviness of her eyes, Emily finally got them to open, the light in her room immediately sending a shot through her head. "Fuck," the single mother cursed, her hand coming up to hold her forehead.

"Emily? Can you hear me?"

The brunette forced her eyes back open at the unfamiliar voice. "Yes," she whispered, afraid if her voice were to be too loud another shot of pain would ring around her head. "Who are you?" Noticing the man in a white coat before her, the agent took a look around the room. "Am I in the hospital?"

The doctor smiled gently to his patient. "Can you remember what happened?"

"I was hit by a car," Emily whispered to herself, eyes widening. "Where's Grace?"

"Your daughter," the doctor acknowledged. "She's here."

"Where is she?" The FBI agent could feel her heart racing as she looked around the room for the little girl. "Where is she? Where's my daughter?" Emily looked to the doctor, tears in her eyes. "Is she ok?"

The doctor stepped forward, his hand up. "Please Agent Prentiss, I need you to stay as still as possible."

"Tell me where my daughter is." The ambassador's daughter ignored the nurses rushing into the room as her heart monitor went off. "Where's Grace? What's wrong with her?"

The nurses tried their best to keep the single mother still in her bed, the doctor walking up to her. "Emily, I need you to stay calm. Once your vital signs are stabilized, I can take you to Grace."

Emily's eyes stung with tears at the mention of her baby girl.

"There are no internal nor external injuries," her doctor informed her, noticing the calming of Emily's nature as he continued. "Grace only has a few bruises. You on the other hand have a broken leg, two fractured ribs and a concussion. I need you to stay in this bed for at least one week."

The brunette woman felt her heart drop into her stomach.

"I can have a NICU nurse bring Grace up in just a little bit, but right now is not the best time." Finishing off his notes on his clipboard, the doctor tried his best to smile to the distraught woman. "There are some friends of yours outside. Do you want visitors?"

Emily wiped her eyes, quickly nodding her head.

Once the nurses had left, the agent was quick to sit herself up in her hospital bed. A rush of pain radiated through her abdomen. She peeked down her hospital gown, noticing the intense bruising underneath her breasts.

"Em?"

Emily looked up just in time to take in a gentle hug from her favorite technical analyst. The doctor must have warned her and the rest of their friends about the ribs. "Where's Grace?" she husked, pulling herself out of the hug to look to the rest of her friends. Where was Hotch? "Have you seen her?"

JJ, with Henry on her hip, stepped farther into the room and shook her head. "She's in the NICU right now. When they told us she had bruises, we came straight up here."

"How do you feel?"

Emily couldn't stop her tears from falling at the genius' question. "I need to see my daughter." Ignoring the pain and sitting up in her bed, she gestured to the door. "Get me a wheelchair."

Derek looked hesitant.

"If I don't have a wheelchair, I'm walking down there," the agent threatened. Noticing the looks in her friends' eyes, she nodded her head. "So go and get me a wheelchair. Now."

Rossi walked over to his favorite agent and handed her the cup of water on the near table. "Have some before you tire yourself out."

Emily looked gratefully up to the older man before taking a few sips.

"What hurts the most?"

"I need to see my daughter," she said again, handing the cup back to the older man. She took Rossi's hand, letting him help her move her legs over the side of the bed to get ready for her wheelchair.

"Emily asking for a wheelchair," Garcia whispered to her blond friend beside her. "Imagine."

JJ stopped herself from laughing outright, watching as their brunette beauty tried to get her breath back.

Noticing all her friends staring, Emily bit her lip. "Do you know who did it?"

"Father of two distracted on the phone," Reid nodded. "He didn't see you pass into the crosswalk. Said he was arguing with his wife about their daughter's birthday party tomorrow night."

"Don't charge him." Receiving shocked looks from the rest of her team, she shook her head. "I don't want to press charges. I'm fine, the doctor said Grace is fine. All I want is to hold my baby."

Just then Derek came rushing back into the room. "Your doctor is doing his rounds. If we get to the elevator now, he'll never notice you're gone."

She let Rossi once again help her, letting him take her underneath her arms to help her stand on her one good leg. Hobbling over to the chair, the agent found it hard to take a deep breath.

"You ok?"

Emily finally sat herself down, coughing hard as a rib poked into her side. "Good," she nodded. "Go." Her hands clenched the arm rests of the wheelchair, her head spinning as her friends took her out of the room and down the hall. She reached forward just enough when they got to the elevator to press the button, her jaw dropping when she felt a rib almost poke at her heart.

Noticing the pain written across her face, JJ knelt down beside the wheelchair. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," she breathed, ushering the chair into the elevator once the doors opened. "Let's go."

Rossi and Derek got into the elevator with their friend, the other agents having to wait until the next one because of the amount of space there was. "Sweetheart," the author of the group said softly, his hand on Emily's shoulder, "tell us if you're hurting."

"I just need to see my daughter."

The elevator doors opened up and Emily immediately felt her heart breaking at the cries that echoed down the hallway from the NICU. "Do you know where she is?"

Derek guided the chair down to where they had left Grace and her doctor only a half hour earlier. "She's going to be ok," he reminded her, knowing the dark thoughts that were racing through his friend's mind.

Once in front of the right window, Emily's hand reached out to touch the glass. "Gracie," she whispered tearfully, watching her wailing daughter squirming in the crib she'd be set in. Immediately her eyes caught onto a scrubbed up figure, and her heart soared.

Picking up the little girl, Hotch held her to his chest. The agents on the other side of the glass couldn't hear what he was whispering to the little girl, but the bruised baby was quick to calm herself down once in his arms.

Emily's chest ached, noticing the small kisses her boss was pressing to Grace's cheek. He had washed, changed his clothes and gotten into scrubs to go in and protect her daughter when she couldn't. She smiled as best she could when he turned her daughter to look her way, the seven month old reaching out to try and get to her mother on the other side of the glass.

Playing with her hand to try and wave toward the injured agent, Hotch kept the baby calm. Watching the pair together, Emily was shocked to realize what had been in front of her for months.

She loved him.


	17. Chapter 17

After her adventure down to the NICU to see her daughter, Emily's doctors had confined her to her hospital room with a nurse coming in every five to ten minutes to make sure she was there in her bed. It had been almost a day and they still didn't let her visit her daughter or have her little girl come up to her room, making sure both were stable before they were together.

Sitting up the best she could, all her weight in her wrists as she lifted her body, Emily let out a breath.

"How's it going, mama?"

She smiled at the dark man walking into her room. "Those are beautiful," she almost whispered, her eyes immediately going to the daisies he carried in. "You didn't have to get anything for me."

Derek shook his head. After he set the vase down, he pulled out a small daisy from the bouquet and showed it to his friend. "And a little one for our little Grace."

Immediately the FBI agent had to keep her tears that threatened to fill her eyes at bay. She nodded silently, smiling gently up to her friend before he sat herself down on the edge of her bed.

"Baby girl is parking the car with Hotch," he grinned. "When do we get to see our little baby girl?"

Emily's head shook. "The doctor hasn't told me yet."

Derek watched as a few emotions raced over his friend's face before she flashed him another one of her famous smiles. "I bet she's dying to see her mommy," he nodded to her, watching as she flipped the dark hair that fell from her ponytail away from her eyes. "How do you feel?"

"My ribs feel like splintered wood," she admitted, surprising her friend with her honesty. "But if I tell my doctor that, then he might not let Grace come up here today."

The FBI agent set his hand to Emily's broken leg underneath her blanket. "I'm sure they will."

Walking into the room, Penelope's face lit up. "My Snow Queen!" she grinned, running across the room and pushing Derek out of his seat on their friend's bed. "How are you, my blossoming buttercup?"

Emily let out a laugh. "More like a broken down buttercup."

"Nonsense," the technical analyst breathed almost in shock. "So I saw baby Gracie on the way up here and she is mighty precious. She wasn't crying," she grinned, seeing Emily's emotions quickly come to the surface. "I think she's all better."

"You saw her?"

Penelope quickly nodded her head. "Just passing by the window."

Looking over her friend's shoulder, the new mother found herself frowning when the man she loved didn't appear. "Derek said Hotch was with you."

The blond smiled wide at the worry she saw on her friend's face. "Don't worry! Boss Man is coming up with a surprise that we worked out." Noting the older woman's long face, Penelope was quick to hold up a hand. "You are going to love it so take that sour puss off your face."

Emily smirked. "Is it chocolate?" The hospital hadn't let JJ sneak it in the day she'd gotten there.

"Even better."

The injured woman looked up at the voice of her friend and saw her baby girl lying peacefully in Hotch's arms. "Hi." Her voice hiccupped, her arms immediately reaching out to take her daughter from the older man. "Hi there baby," she whispered, smiling wide when Grace turned to face her.

"Mama!"

Penelope stood from the bed and reached to take Derek's hand. "How glorious is this?" she whispered to the other agent, her eyes never leaving Emily.

Emily let Grace's hands clap against her cheeks before she fully hugged the now eight month old against her. "Mommy missed you so much." Pressing a long kiss to her chubby cheek, the brunette woman grinned. "How are you feeling, Gracie?"

Hotch loved the way Emily's voice changed when she spoke to Grace.

The eight month old contemplated her next move, her small fingers grabbing at her mother's earlobes before she launched herself against the agent's chest.

"We can lay here for a bit." Without moving her daughter from her spot against her chest, Emily's dark eyes searched Grace's small body to look for the bruises her friends had told her she had. A dark purple mark was partially visible underneath the collar of the little onesie the hospital had put her in, and another around her wrist. Her heart clenched at seeing the bruises, but the rest of her little girl seemed perfectly fine.

Hotch saw Emily looking to him with tears in her eyes, and he sat down in the chair beside her bed. "She's ok. Don't panic, alright?"

Emily silently nodded her head, letting the older man put a hand to her arm.

"Emily?"

All heads turned to see the familiar man standing in the doorway, Emily's hold on her daughter never faltering. "Theodore," she breathed. "What are you doing here?"

The older man took that as an invitation to enter the room, closing the door behind him. "Your friend called me to tell me about the accident. Are you both ok?"

Emily smiled gently to the older man. "We're ok," she nodded. "Thank you so much."

"May I?"

Her friends watched as the brunette hesitated before handing her daughter off to the older man, their eyes on every movement.

"Gracie," her grandfathered cooed, the tears making it hard to understand him, "don't worry us like that again." He laughed along with the little girl as he tickled her. "You gave grandpa a scare."

Feeling the tension in the room, Theodore looked to the woman in the hospital bed with pleading eyes. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Emily gave a small smile. "I'm alright, thank you."

"I hate to ask, but Henney is waiting downstairs. May I bring Grace?"

Derek was fast on his feet, seeing the horror in his friend's eyes at the sheer mention of the redheaded devil. "Do you mind if I come with you?" He saw Theodore give an understanding nod before receiving the affirmative smile from the hospitalized woman before leaving the room.

Hotch took Emily's hand right away. "She's going to come right back up, ok?"

The brown eyed woman tried to stop her tears from falling as she looked to the older man by her bedside.

"She's ok. You're both ok."

Emily could hear Penelope sniffling as she threw her arms around her boss. Pulling Hotch close to her, Emily let her head fall into the crook of his neck.

Hotch felt Emily's tears run down his neck as he ran his hand down her back. Lips to her ear, he whispered how strong she was and how amazing she was doing at being Grace's mother.

"Thank you," the agent cried quietly, lifting her head long enough to press a kiss to Hotch's cheek. "For everything."


	18. Chapter 18

Hearing the court room doors open, Hotch stood from his seat and turned to face the rows behind him. His eyes spotted the brunette woman he had been spending so much time with limp into the court room with a cane in hand, her free one pushing the strolled that held her daughter. "You feeling ok?"

Emily smiled softly at the older man as he walked up and helped her with Grace, leaving the baby beside their team in the front row. "Much better," she nodded. Taking the hand he held out to her, the new mother let him help her over to their table that was set to the right of the judge's chair. "Hi Mark."

The agent's lawyer sent her a smile, his hand touching her arm. "I have a good feeling."

Looking up to the judge's chambers to wait for them to arrive, Emily forced herself to keep her eyes away from the table beside theirs where her daughter's grandmother was whispering to her lawyer.

"Do you need anything?"

Emily gave her friend a small smile as he took her hand on the wooden table. "To win," she whispered back.

Hearing the doors open, everyone in the court room stood before the bailiff was able to say so.

"Please be seated," the judge nodded, sitting herself down as she looked to the ambassador's daughter. "Alright, case 4306: Linnape v Prentiss. Mrs. Linnape will you please stand?"

The redheaded woman stood along with her lawyer. "Your honor, I am fighting for the custody of my daughter's child Grace."

"On what grounds?" Looking back at the file she had received, Judge Arnold didn't exactly understand the reason for taking this case from arbitration to court. "On what grounds do you believe you have the right to have custody of Grace Benton?"

Hennessy widened her eyes to appear sad, just like a child would. "I think my lawyer should speak. I'm feeling a little emotional at the moment."

It took all Emily had only to squeeze Hotch's hand underneath their table and not roll her eyes at the older woman.

"Your honor, my client is fighting for custody of her granddaughter Grace because we see Agent Prentiss as an unfit mother. She had a job that takes her out of state almost weekly, she's a single woman on a government's salary and we have the word of her social security case worker that Agent Prentiss' mother was not aware of Grace until only weeks ago."

The judge let her eyes move to the injured woman sitting with her defense. "Agent Prentiss, you're here to deny these claims?"

Emily sat straighter in her chair. "And fight for full custody of Grace. Yes, your honor."

Hennessy's lawyer turned to the defense. "Your honor, if at all possible I would like to ask Agent Prentiss up to the witness stand to question her."

Judge Arnold almost glared at the small man. "You may not. This is not a murder investigation, in case you've forgotten. I will be questioning both your client as well as Agent Prentiss, do you understand." Waiting for his confirmation, the judge looked back to the agent. "And seeing as how Agent Prentiss is injured, I'd like her to stay right where she is."

Hennessy's lawyer refused from making an outward remark to the dismissal, quietly sitting himself back down in his seat.

"Agent Prentiss, are you alright?"

Emily gave a gentle nod of the head. "I am, your honor. A few weeks ago I was in an accident with my daughter, we were both hit by a car."

"Is Grace alright?"

"She is," Emily smiled. "Just a few bruises."

Judge Arnold made a point to look back to the Linnape side of the court room with hard eyes before returning them to the special agent. "I hear you refer to Grace as your daughter."

Emily's tongue gently swiped over her bottom lip as she heard her daughter call to her from JJ's arms. "I've been Grace's guardian for months now. My best friend left her to me in his will, and I've done everything he's asked of me. In my mind, the moment I saw her she was my daughter." She could practically feel Hennessy fuming from the table beside theirs.

"What are the things you've done for Grace since she's been in your care?"

"After Matthew's funeral, I was able to meet Grace. My friends had put together a room for her in my home before I even knew it," she breathed with a smile. "They love her just as much as I do. Right after I got her Grace got sick with an ear infection, but that cleared up. I feed her, I change her, I know what toys she likes at what times and how she sleeps. She has friends - the children of my teammates - and she's enrolled at the daycare at the bureau for when I'm working."

The judge nodded. She was just like any other mother. "And yet, Mrs. Linnape, your lawyer claims that Agent Prentiss is an unfit mother."

"Agent Prentiss is barely ever in town, due to her job. How is that the makings of a good mother?" Hennessy's lawyer asked. "Grace is just a child. How will she adjust to the woman who claims to be her mother when she's barely seen her?"

Emily frowned at the tried statement. "Grace is in my care every moment I'm home. When I'm not, my daughter is with Penelope Garcia who is a member of my team and one of my very close friends, or she's with her grandparents."

"Including the Linnapes?"

"Yes. Grace loves all her grandparents, so I don't keep her away from them."

Judge Arnold gestured her hand in the direction of Hennessy who looked as if she were about to burst from her seat. "Yes, Mrs. Linnape?"

The redheaded woman let her tears shed for the little girl her daughter had given birth to. "I just want to see my granddaughter. She should be mine! My Grace has been hurt many times in the agent's care, and she didn't even tell her mother about her!"

The judge waited for Hennessy's lawyer to calm her down before looking back to the defense. "Agent Prentiss, do you care to address these claims?"

"As much as I would like to," she began, "I cannot stop a child from getting an ear infection. The incident weeks ago, again, was something I could not control. Yes she was hurt, but I took the brunt of the force. I would never put her in harms way." She heard the baby call for her once again, and she quickly turned around to wave at her.

"As for your mother, Agent Prentiss?"

Emily rolled her lips, nodding her head. "My mother and I have never had a good relationship, but I agree that that is no good excuse. Getting Grace happened so quickly and my mother was overseas. Everything happening the way it did, I didn't even think to tell her until I saw her on my doorstep." Looking back to her daughter once more, she saw the little girl being handed over to Matthew's boyfriend, the eight month old taking his glasses in her small hands. "I love Grace. I may do some things wrong, I'm sure most mothers do, but I have done and will do everything I can to make sure I provide a good home for her. She's my daughter."


	19. Chapter 19

Hotch made sure to evenly distribute the candles along the outer edges of the vanilla cake Emily had gotten for Grace. Batting Morgan's hand away, the Unit Chief did his best to make it look as good as it could.

"Come on man, I can't help even a little bit?"

The brunette man glared to his subordinate, hearing Garcia's heels click against the floors as she raced into the kitchen.

The blue eyed technical analyst stared down the two men by the stove. "You're making us wait out there because you two are arguing over who gets to decorate the cake?" She stomped over to her coworkers in her five inch heels and slapped Derek's arm.

"I didn't even do anything!" he argued, gesturing to Hotch. "He won't let me."

"Then get back out there and hold Gracie or something."

Hotch laughed as he watched the younger man almost pout before leaving the room. "You sure have him on a short leash, don't you?"

Garcia shrugged. "As long as it's covered in sparkles, who cares?" Stepping closer to the older man, the blond grinned. "Are you excited to spend the weekend with Em and Gracie?"

The Unit Chief eyed his friend carefully. Sure he had been spending time with the two women, a lot more time than he had ever spent with his own wife for the years they'd been together, but Emily needed him.

And he needed Emily.

"I am," he nodded to the younger woman, finally picking up the cake he had gotten ready. "And I know you already know where I want to take them and Jack but they don't, so try your best not to say anything alright?"

Garcia almost jumped. "I'll try!" she laughed, hurrying out of the kitchen to sit herself back down in the dining room.

The older man laughed, shaking his head as he exited the kitchen. With his hand before the lit candles to keep the flames from going out, he slowly made his way back into the dining room with his eyes glued to those of the woman he'd fallen for. He smiled, seeing her adjust the now one year old girl in her lap to look over to him. "Happy Birthday to you."

The others in the room started singing along with him, some with their eyes on the cake that had been made the day before and some watching Grace to see how she was taking the celebration.

Emily pressed a few kisses to her daughter's cheek, hearing her squeal in laughter as the cake was put in front of her. "Happy birthday, baby girl," she cooed, smiling wide when the one year old turned her head to face her. "Happy birthday, Gracie!"

Blinking fast, the brunette baby who had her mother's hands around her stomach to help her stand on her lap looked down to the flickering flames of the candles and grinned.

"Blow them out, baby."

Hearing her mother's voice, Grace turned to look at Emily who puckered her lips to show her what to do. Her tiny forehead creasing as she tried to focus on the face her mother was making, the one year old copied the older woman.

Emily's eyes brightened. "That's right!" Turning the little girl in her lap, Emily showed her how to blow at the candles. "Blow them out."

Hotch walked over to Emily's side when she beckoned for him, and he knelt down beside them. "Blow them out, Gracie."

Standing in front of the small family, Andrea Benton stole the camera from her husband. "Cheese," she whispered as she pressed down the button, watching both Hotch and Emily helping her granddaughter blow out the candles on her first birthday cake.

Emily shared a kiss with her daughter as she pulled her back, sitting her on her lap as her boss took the candles from the cake.

"Mama."

The brunette hugged the one year old close to her at the whispered word, seeing the smile Gracie gave her as she called her that. "Hi baby." Reaching forward, Emily stuck her finger in the icing of the cake and brought her finger back for Grace to suck on.

She looked over to the couples at the other end of the table as her daughter tried to practically eat off her finger, noticing Hennessy watching Grace with every movement she made. The Linnapes had lost their case in court, the judge finding Emily a suitable parent for little Grace. If there was anyone who could have been better suited to raise the green eyed girl it would have been Matthew himself, but Emily was a good second choice.

The best choice Matthew had made in a long time.

Pressing one more kiss to Grace's growing hair, Emily handed her daughter off to Thomas and wiped her hand off on a napkin before standing. Theodore had made his presence known the moment he walked in the door, but his wife, never having come to even try and appreciate the FBI agent for what she was doing, had kept herself quiet and off in the corner.

"Hennessy," she spoke up, watching as the redheaded woman moved her eyes up to her, "I want to thank you for coming."

Theodore made his way back to his wife from the kitchen, eyeing the interaction as he slowed his steps.

The redheaded woman eyed the younger mother from head to toe, taking in the semi formal blouse and skirt she wore for Grace's big day, and she held back her sigh. "Thank you for inviting me."

Hearing Theodore's breath escape him from behind her, Emily smiled. "I'm sure Grace would love some pictures with the both of you."

"Um, Emily?"

The brunette woman turned to see her friends gathering around her daughter who had frosting all over her face. "Gracie!" she laughed, rushing back over to the one year old and picking her up out of Andrea's arms. "What did you do?"

The green eyed girl giggled. "Mama!"

"We have to clean you up." Emily carried the laughing little girl into the kitchen and sat her on the counter, dampening a paper towel to use for her daughter's face.

Hotch followed the pair into the kitchen, leaning against the open doorway and watching as the woman he loved made faces at the giggling birthday girl on the counter. "She sure is going to be a handful in a few years, isn't she?"

Emily laughed, meeting the eyes of the older man. "She isn't one now?" she asked, gesturing to the frosting covering her daughter's face.

The brunette grimaced. "True." Walking up to the pair in the kitchen, Hotch smiled down to the birthday girl. "Are you excited for the weekend, Gracie?" Watching her grin up to him, he nodded. "You're going to have so much fun." He could hear his son telling everyone back in the dining room about the surprise he had for them that weekend.

Emily looked skeptically to the older man before starting to clean off her daughter's face. "Yeah, what exactly are we doing this weekend?"

"It's not necessary to go into detail," Hotch shrugged.

"What if you're driving us there and all of a sudden you have a heart attack and I need to get us to the hospital but I don't know where it is because you didn't tell me and then we all starve to death?"

The Unit Chief glared at the smiling woman before him. "A little dramatic."

Once her daughter was cleaned off, Emily hiked her up on her hip. "Please just tell me where we're going."

"It would ruin the surprise." He leaned into the younger woman and pressed a kiss to her dark hair, watching as Emily's eyes twinkled as she looked up to him. "You're going to love it, I promise."

Emily forced herself to contain the blush that wanted to creep up on her cheeks as she gestured to her daughter with a tilt of her head. "At least tell me what I need to bring for this one."

"Her cute little smile," he cooed to the little girl. Standing straight, he saw the look Emily was giving him. "And if you have them, little baby boots."

Watching as the brunette man left her kitchen, Emily wrapped her arms tighter around the squirming little girl in her hold. "Do you like him, Gracie?" Another whispered 'mama' had Emily smiling, kissing the one year old's forehead as Grace looked up to her. "You think he should stay?"

Grace beamed up at her mother.

"Me too," she smiled, her arm underneath Grace's little butt as she carried her back into the dining room to spend time with their guests.

Their family.


End file.
